Hurting
by SopranoandBass
Summary: Bella has lived with Charlie all her life, and when Renee left he became abusive. When the Cullens move in next door, will Charlie be caught? I'll bet you can guess who comes to Bella's rescue! Canon pairings. AU: all human
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

Disclaimer: Hey guys, I don't own a thing!

This is my first fanfic EVER!!! So excited! I'll be updating every week or so. Please review! You guys are the best! I don't care if you hate it, just review!

xoxo SopranoandBass

**Chapter One**

**EPOV**

My name is Edward Cullen, and I used to live with my brother and twin sister, Emmett and Alice respectively, and my mother and father Esme and Carlisle. We were moving to the tiny town of Forks, Washington and finally leaving Denali. We hated it in Alaska, so close to our obnoxious orphaned cousins, so we left to try out our luck elsewhere.

I got the bottom bedroom. It's a kind of rectangular room on the front of the house. It has white walls and a dark blue carpet. I had only one window, but it's huge and takes up almost the entire wall of my room that faces the neighbor's house. We had just arrived a few hours ago, so I was still trying to unpack when I saw her. I hadn't thought to close the window for privacy, and neither had she. I don't think that she realized that we had moved in yet. I'll admit, the moving truck still hadn't arrived.

I saw the girl; I didn't know her name yet, sit down on a bed opposite mine. Her window was floor-to-ceiling and, but narrow. However, she was sitting on her bed, which was in just the right position that I could see her. I was just watching her, wondering what our new neighbors were up to. I knew I shouldn't have stared, but I was curious and I never expected that I would see…well…

I was watching her, when she suddenly but gently pulled her shirt off, my jaw must have dropped to the floor. She had the most perfect body, pale skin and perfectly rounded breasts. She was wearing a plain white bra, which she unhooked, but did not remove. Thank goodness! Her shoulders sort of slumped a little once the bra was not tight around her skin, it was like she had been in pain before, but removing the pressure of her bra from her skin made her feel better.

But, actually, what I noticed first was that, her body was perfect, but marred by terrible bruises, cuts and scrapes. There was a nice big one on one of her lower ribs which she looked at in a mirror that was floor length across the room from her dresser. She seemed to be evaluating her body; I wondered how she had gotten all of her bruises. I looked more closely, and noticed not that she was skinny, a good thing, but she was way _too_ skinny, which wasn't so good. I could clearly see every one of her ribs, and her stomach was the flat of the unhealthy, not the flat of the healthy. As she turned her face slightly toward me, I noticed that her cheekbones were very prominent, her face was quite gaunt. I quickly turned back to my suitcase, afraid that she would see me watching her.

When I was sure that it was safe, I glanced back at her room through the window. Now her pants were off too, my eyes popped. Her legs, they were just as perfect, and just as bruised as her torso. Now she was sitting in front of her window in panties and an unhooked bra applying some kind of cream to her body. My eyes were glued to her perfect, but mottled, body. I didn't have time to even think before a man burst his way into her room. He was large, but not fat, slightly balding and definitely shorter than me, maybe around 5' 10". He was wearing khakis and a white undershirt. His eyes swept her room, seeing me in the window. I should have ducked; it would have saved her more bruises.

The man stormed up to her, the beautiful girl shuffled back from him on her bed and pressed herself against the headboard. I couldn't hear, but I saw the man's mouth moving angrily. He waved a hand out her window, and then her head followed his gesture and saw me. Her face, her perfect but emaciated face, changed into an expression of horror and embarrassment. I was unable to do anything other than stare at her face. Looking back, I wonder if maybe that's how true love works. You know that they hate you, but you can't stop being with them, or in my case, watching them.

Then, I saw the man's hand lash out. She didn't, and was hit smack on the cheek. Her head flew into the wall. Her eyes fluttered and she slowly lifted her head. She didn't get far. The man, still yelling, hit her again and again slamming her head into the wall as I watched in horror. Eventually she slumped onto the bed. The angry man punched her in the gut once then stormed out of the room.

She lay still for a moment, and I was worried that she was unconscious, but then she sat up, shakily, supporting herself with her arms, and rehooked her bra, wincing as she did so. I could see the blood on her head. She stood, then, and shuffled to the window, I don't know if she saw me, and reached out the close the blinds. I watched until I could see her no more, but before she was lost to me for the night I saw a single tear carve a path down her freshly bruised cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! I wasn't going to update so soon, but I got reviewed! I'm so excited! You don't even know how much that made my horrible week so much better! So, thanks to **bitten-sln**, **Edwardxlovesxme**,** La tua cantate** (sorry, they wouldn't let me put in your actual username, so I sort of paraphrased...), **meli**, and **jaspersgal1861** for the lovely reviews!

And now, without further ado…here's chapter 2: (hey, that rhymed!)

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**Chapter Two**

**BPOV**

I was getting dinner ready, singing along to the radio, when he came home. I tried to be as cheerful as possible, tried not to remember the night before when he had…well, it was nothing new. He did it almost every night now.

I shut off the radio, and brought out the lasagna. He was already sitting down. His stomach grumbled, and he answered its call by digging in without a word of greeting to me, his only daughter. I followed his lead, what I always do, and started eating as well. I was only half way done when he was finished. He frowned and left the table for the TV room, most likely there was a game of some sort on tonight. I wasn't interested, and even if I was, he wouldn't let me watch TV; I wasn't allowed to do anything that may have caused me pleasure.

I finished, and started to clear the table when Charlie clumped back into the room. He grunted, "What's for dessert?"

Uh oh, I didn't have any dessert. "What would you like; I thought I would wing it today." I lied brightly.

He saw through me easily, I had never been a good liar. "Yeah right. Don't lie to me. That's rule number one in this house, you know that."

I had a very different set of rules,

Do whatever Charlie says

Don't anger Charlie

Don't break Charlie's rules

Don't show that you are in pain

and Don't spend time with Charlie if you can possibly help it.

But his rule number one was 'Don't lie to Charlie.' I knew what was coming. He slapped me hard, "That was your punishment."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't you apologize to me!" he kicked my knees out from under me. "You're just like your worthless mother, always blubbering, apologizing." My mother left this insane torture. One day she just packed her bags and left me forever. She tried to get a judge to get me out of Charlie's house, but she couldn't prove that he was abusive, and he was (still is) a police chief, so it was just her word against his. I'm stuck with him now. He blames me for her disappearance, and everything else.

Charlie kicked my left leg, I felt the pain, but did not cry out. Then he kicked my ribs several times in the same place. "That should remind you not to lie to me again. Now don't bother me for the rest of the night!" He went back to his TV, leaving me balled up and in excruciating pain on the floor of the kitchen.

When I felt that I could stand, I did, and then I walked through the rest of the kitchen to my room. It was barely a room, but then, it could have been worse. I have a really nice window, it faces the setting sun. I left it open when I took my shirt and pants off so that I could catch the last rays of sunlight for the day. I started putting lotion on my bruises, unhooking my bra so that my ribs weren't pressured where Charlie kicked them. I put on my lotion, finishing up and about to put on my pajamas when Charlie showed up again.

His eyes swept the room, stopping on my window, and then his gaze returned to me. I scooted backward on my bed, hoping that he would leave me alone that night. "You stupid girl! The window is wide open and that asshole of a neighbor is staring at you!" I followed his gesture through the window to see a young man, probably about my age or a few years older watching me through his window. I hadn't realized! How long had he been watching! I wished he would turn away, but he didn't. Charlie's hand hit my face, and my head slammed into the wall. "You stupid ass little girl," another slam, "You skanky bitch, how could you even," another, "I bet you were putting on a nice little show for him, weren't you?" another, "Do you want someone you own age to play with? Am I not good enough?" another, I whimpered, "What the hell is wrong with you!"

Eventually he stopped hitting me; I slumped down, unable to hold up my throbbing head. He punched me in the gut once, before leaving me. I lay still for a moment, before standing and closing my blinds. I rehooked my bra and prayed that Charlie wouldn't come back for the rest of the night. I had no such luck.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again everybody! I'm sorry for keeping this so long. I actually haven't been able to get to a computer. It's pretty bad. But um, thanks to everybody who reviewed over these few (4) days:

**taniiah**

**mercedesfrk1121**

**IloveEdwardNotJacob**

**bitten-sln**

**lostinyou247**

**edwardandbellabelong2gether**

**BiteThis93**

**loulabelle**

and

**Emmet's Girl 47**

You guys don't even know how excited I get when I get reviews!  
Review Review Review!!

Oh, and I forgot this a few times: I am _not_ Stephenie Meyer and I am not trying to infringe her copyright. If I _was_ her, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, I would be writing Midnight Sun!

And now: the lovely Edward yet again

P.S. There are two quotes almost exactly from the book in this chapter. If anyone can tell me the page number(s) in a review (of course), I'll send them a sneak preview of chapter four!

________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Three**

**EPOV**

I didn't sleep at all that night; I kept wondering whether the beautiful girl was alright. My lack of sleep didn't help my first appearance at school the next morning.

My mother banged on my door that morning, "Rise and shine Edward! It's your first day of school; you don't want to be late!"

"I'm already up," I barked, "I'll be right out." I pulled on my jeans and t-shirt that I had packed with my sleeping bag for that day. I grabbed my toothbrush and headed for the downstairs bathroom. Alice was already occupying it. "Alice!" I shouted and banged on the door, "Why don't you use your own bathroom!"

"Sorry! The toilet stopped working in there! I'll be out soon." Alice was clearly apologetic, but she didn't have the same meaning of 'soon' that most normal people do. She did come out about ten minutes later, looking perfect, though.

"Did you flush another one of those _things_ down the toilet again?" I asked half disgustedly, and half teasingly.

"I did _not_ flush a tampon down the toilet. I learned my lesson the first time!" she retorted, jabbing me in the ribs.

I used the bathroom and grabbed some breakfast on my way out. I was driving Alice to school. At 17, I was the second oldest and Emmett didn't go to our high school. We arrived right on time. As I parked, I saw the beautiful girl again, she was exiting a bulbous red truck that looked a little too old to still be running, she had a small blue bag and her hair was down around her shoulders and face, obviously hiding the bruise from last night. I wanted to go over to her and apologize, but Alice pulled me along to the office before I could even speak.

The secretary, Mrs. Cope, gave us schedules and classes and things for the teachers to sign. My schedule:

Period 1 Biology

Period 2 Spanish 5

Period 3 Calculus

Period 4 Lunch

Period 5 Classical Literature

Period 6 AP American History

Period 7 Gym

Alice's:

Period 1 Calculus

Period 2 French 6

Period 3 Journalism

Period 4 Lunch

Period 5 Gym

Period 6 AP American History

Period 7 Biology

We headed off to class. Just my luck, as I got to Biology, the class had not started yet. Mr. Banner signed my slip and I went to sit at the only free desk available. It just so happened that it was at the table with the beautiful girl. Just as I passed, she suddenly went rigid in her seat. She stared at me meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on her face – it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly. Well, there goes that budding friendship.

She let her hair fall over her right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us. During the whole class, she never relaxed her stiff position on the edge of her chair, sitting as far away from be as possible.

That day we simply listened to Mr. Banner and took notes. No big deal.

The rest of the day passed in a breeze, all of my other classes were a piece of cake, nothing was hard for me except lunch where Alice gushed on and on about her day thus far until the bell rang. I just listened; it's the best thing to do with Alice.

And then we were home. Mom was just like Alice except she asked _us_ all about _our_ days. Alice went into talk mode again and I escaped to my room, claiming that I was going to the kitchen for a snack. I watched through my window as the girl parked her truck in the driveway and then slowly trudged up to the house. Then, from a window that was closer to the back of the house than hers, I saw her cooking something. Then, a delicious smell wafted from my own kitchen. I figured that my mother was finishing up some sort of meal, so I went to go and take my share.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, thanks for putting up with the wait. I didn't mean to keep you waiting for so long, but it just sort of happened. I went to see the movie (Twilight) on Thursday at midnight, so I didn't get a chance to update, and the only days that I can update (usually) are Thursday, Sunday and sometimes Wednesday. So, as is customary, I will thank the reviewers who well, reviewed:

**ReachingAsIFall**

**Loulabelle**

**hplvrgurl132**

**IrisOfTheRainbow**

**Alex**

**rebecca**

**courthale**

**Eme ROX**

**mercedesfrk1121**

**SexySadie88**

**Emmett's Girl 47**

**bitten-sln**

**CellaCulln**

**IloveEdwardNotJacob**

**and**

**edwardandbellabelong2gether**

BTW: Review or PM me and tell me what you thought of the movie! I won't give anything away, but I thought that Robert Pattinson did a much better job than expected and Kristen Stewart was worse than expected…was it just me or did she not smile for the entire film? Whatever.

Um, there is a rape in this chapter, so keep your eyes open for a bold lettering that says when it starts. It ends at the end of the chapter, so if you reach the bold and you don't want to read, just go to chapter 5.

And now:

**Chapter Four**

**BPOV**

School that day had been torture, awful. I got to school that day and could barely walk, my legs were so bruised. It didn't help that my friend, Rosalie, noticed and gave me another 'talk' about going to the police and such. I had laughed when she said, 'the police'. Charlie is the police chief, they wouldn't take him away, and they might even help him. I had no where to go except for my mother's house, but I didn't know where she lived.

It was even worse in first period that that _boy_ was there. He came to sit directly at my table. I leaned away from him, embarrassed and not wanting him to recognize me. He seemed to anyway. I was pretty sure that I failed my Trigonometry test, and I was also hoping that Eric wasn't mortally wounded from badminton racket that flew out of my hand in gym.

I was at lunch, though, when the real excitement happened. I was sitting with my friends at our usual table, but somehow that boy was sitting directly in my line of sight from across the lunch room. I was able to see him and I watched him for the entire lunch period. He was beautiful, I hadn't noticed before. He was tall, more than six feet probably, with pale skin and odd piercing green eyes. He had the most gorgeous bronze hair that was ruffled slightly, but still suited him well. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but he still looked like he had just stepped off a catwalk. The girl he was sitting with, presumably his sister, was also beautiful. She was way shorter than him, maybe not even five feet. She had short black hair that went straight to the bottom of her ears before it flared out a little to a point. Her eyes were also green, and she had the same pale skin and beauty that her brother had. She was gushing on and on to her brother, and he was examining a wall, slowly nodding his head to everything she was saying.

When I got home that day, I decided to make tacos and chocolate sponge cake. I had it all laid out and most of my homework done when Charlie came home. He shut all the blinds and complained that the sun was giving him a headache. He must have been drinking. Well, that meant I knew what was coming that night. I always made him feel better when he had a hangover. He didn't beat me, though, that was good. Apparently the tacos were a good choice. I brought out the sponge cake as soon as he was done, so he didn't have a chance to beat me in between. Then he went to watch a game, but there was nothing on, so he asked me to his room which was upstairs.

**Do not read if rape disturbs you**

As soon as I was up there, he tore my shirt off of my body, and then pulled my bra off over my head. He pushed me onto his bed and grabbed my breasts, really hard, it hurt. He didn't even take off his shirt, but he did take off his pants and made me stroke him through his boxers. I was crying the entire time.

Eventually he stopped kneading me and slipped off his boxers. I whimpered as a hard pointy thing poked into my stomach. He slapped me for the whimper and turned me over so that I was lying on my stomach. I felt him rise off of the bed and take his shirt off. He must have grabbed his handcuffs as well because I soon found my hands cuffed together.

Charlie then kneeled over me on the bed, straddling my waist from behind. I knew what was coming next. He thrust into my anus, and I screamed. He thrust again, enjoying my pain. His member was much too big to fit into my poor ass. He thrust a third time, and this time the skin ripped open. I felt the blood coat and dry on my ass, making it even harder for him to stick himself into me. But he managed it anyway, causing me worse pain than before.

Then he pulled out of me and turned me over. He disregarded my whimper of pain at being forced to put weight on my aching behind. He ground his hips against mine, causing me more pain in the back, and then took the opportunity to jam himself inside of my front. He did this again and again; I became numb from the pain. During his last thrust into me, he punched me really hard in the left breast. I took that to signal our ending, and picked up my clothes to go take a shower.


	5. Chapter 5

So, here's the deal. I was going to give you two chapters on Thursday, but I didn't find the time to update (see chapter 4 for an explanation), so I'm giving you guys three today!

Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. Never was, never will be, but a girl can dream…right?

**Chapter Five**

**EPOV**

For the next week, life went on as it had that first day of school. I didn't see the girl other than when she was going in and out of her car and at biology, where we didn't talk. Then, she forgot to close the blinds to her room all the way and I saw her again. I saw the angry man come into her room again and rip off her shirt and pants then push her onto her bed by her breasts. I watched with horror as the angry man continued to beat her while making her stroke his penis. The angry man then thrust inside of her several times while she was crying and then threw her clothes at her with a punch in the face before he left. She rolled over, naked, and began to cry. I wanted nothing more than to cross her driveway and comfort her, but I knew that I shouldn't. Then, he came back.

Then angry man started to beat her with some sort of stick, it was a police baton. Oh, that explained the police cruiser in the driveway. She didn't cry out, only curled tighter into a ball. He beat her so hard that eventually she was limp and motionless. Then he left again. I waited, waited, waited for her to wake up, but she didn't. I did the only thing that I could think of. I went into my father's office and grabbed his medicine bag. I took out some gauze bandages and antiseptic ointment. I replaced the bag and then climbed out my window and into hers.

I tried not to ogle as I wiped off the congealed blood that was covering almost her entire torso. I wiped off her face with a damp cloth from my bathroom and saw another bruise on her cheekbone this time. I, while trying to protect her privacy, examined her back and front for bruises and cuts. I bound her left arm, which was bleeding profusely, with the gauze that I had brought and applied the antiseptic. I also covered plenty of other cuts with the antiseptic. I worked over her for the better part of an hour, and she still didn't stir. I then dug through her drawers and pulled out what seemed to be pajamas. I pulled a t-shirt over her head and carefully eased up the pants with out looking.

Then I climbed bag through her window and through mine to get her a glass of water. It was a miracle that my mother didn't notice anything suspicious. Alice was in her room, dad was still at work, and Emmett was still at college (of course). Probably mom was in her room looking at some old building plans; she restores houses for a rather large salary.

I brought the beautiful girl a drink and sat propped her up on her headboard. I tried to feed her the water, and slowly she revived. She gasped a little, and then looked at me, sitting beside her, with a glass of water. She froze. I figured that that was my clue to leave.

I gave her the rest of the water, which she drank greedily, and then offered an explanation. "Um, hi. I live next door and I, well, couldn't help but see you…um…I thought you needed help, and so I brought this stuff over." I gave her the rest of the gauze and antiseptic ointment before I quickly made my escape through her window.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer.

If you want to see my author's note, refer to chapters 4 and 5!

**Chapter Six**

**BPOV**

I woke up to find myself propped upright, and the beautiful neighbor boy was sitting next to me with a glass of water. I was confused for a moment before it all came back to me. I remembered leaving the blinds open just a bit so that I could see the sunset. Then Charlie came, and I regretted leaving the blinds open, I didn't want him to see _that_, only the beating part. But Charlie beat me too. And then, of course, instead of calling DYFS, the hotheaded teenage boy decided to help by himself.

He offered a disjointed explanation the left really quickly; he was probably embarrassed to be around me after seeing, you know.

So he was gone and I had his medical supplies and a glass of water. What a weirdo. But I hadn't been thinking that. As long as he was there I was staring into his beautiful green eyes and thinking how much I would love to kiss him. That's a little weird, I mean, considering the circumstances.

But after he had left, I had my mind back again and was able to concentrate on what had happened. I evaluated my body and was surprised to find a t-shirt and pajama pants. I looked into my clothing and saw that my cuts were covered by a clear gel, the antiseptic, and my left arm was bound with some gauze. I saw the beautiful boy climb into his window and the look back at me. I closed the blinds and turned over to go to sleep.

The next morning, Rosalie picked me up to take me to school. "So, guess what?" she said.

"What?" I answered.

"I met the most awesome girl, her name is Alice and she's new here. I think you'd really like her, so I'm thinking we _all_ become friends." Rosalie seemed really excited, and I didn't want to burst her bubble and explain that friendship isn't always that easy, so I said that it was alright. But Rosalie, as always, was way too perceptive for me. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just, well, I don't know."

"Nothing. Yeah right. Bella, did your father beat you again?"

"No," I whispered.

"Yes he did. You know, you have to do something about this, Bella. Don't wait for it to stop, because it's not going to."

"No he didn't. Now can you just drop it?!"

"Fine, Bella, but you really need to stop this."

"Rosalie, I'll be 18 in six months, as soon as that happens, I'm getting out of here, okay?"

"Alright, Bella, the second you turn 18, get out of your father's house! Promise."

"Sure, sure, it's a promise."

And then we were at school. Rosalie dragged me out of the car and led me over to a girl, I assumed that she was Alice, but I didn't notice her. I noticed the beautiful boy standing next to her. I guessed that Alice was the girl that I saw sitting with him a week ago. I would have stopped and turned around if Rosalie hadn't been pulling me.

"Hi!" Alice said, "I'm Alice Cullen, you must be Bella!" I wrenched my eyes away from the beautiful boy and shook Alice's hand. "This is my brother, Edward." Alice said.

I didn't raise my hand, all I did was say, "You!" to Edward, the beautiful boy. He looked confused. "You!" I said again, "You…my arm…"

"Hi," he said, and stuck out his hand, "I'm Edward."

I shook his hand, and the four of us were off to a great start. Well, the three of us, and the three of them. I wasn't so sure about Edward, the beautiful boy. I mean, I'm pretty sure that he had seen my father rape me and then touched my body, even washed it, while I was unconscious and naked. That's a little awkward when you're supposed to be friends.

And then it was time for class. 'O horror of horrors, Edward and I had biology together.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi again, sorry about not posting and all of that. I suppose I'm getting lazy now that I've gotten chapters out, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten you. I'm borrowing a computer to get online and post this for you guys. I hope that you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) and I'll post again on Sunday for sure. Thanks to all of the people who have sent me reviews, hopefully I replied to all of you?

**IloveEdwardNotJacob**

**twilighter97**

**IrisOfTheRainbow**

**bitten-sln**

**courthale**

**Loulabelle**

**mercedesfrk1121**

**lovededwardalways**

**slmCandle**

**CellaCullen**

and

**Maximum Ride all the way**

Thanks a lot guys! And there is some dialogue in this chapter…sort of.

**Disclaimer: I am not Stepheine Meyer, if you haven't noticed by now.**

**Chapter Seven**

**EPOV**

So she and her friend, Rosalie according to Alice, approached us. She wouldn't stop staring at me. It made me feel a little self-conscious, but I couldn't help but stare at her so I thought that maybe we were even. She and Alice hit it off well I thought, but then again girls are confusing. Alice introduced me. I wasn't happy about it, but she did. Bella didn't say 'hello', nor did she shake my hand. She said, "You! You…You…my arm…"

I said, "Hi, I'm Edward." I stuck out my hand, wondering if she'd touch me after…last night. And she did. Her skin was so soft, so smooth and warm. The beautiful Bella. Bella means beautiful, you know, in Italian. So, then it was time for class and I walked her to Biology.

"So," I started, "How was your night, I mean…did you sleep well." _Edward, you are such an idiot!_ I thought, _no she didn't sleep well, you jerk!_

"No." she said shortly. "Did you?"

"No."

We didn't say anything else until just before class started. Bella opened and closed her mouth several times before she said, "Edward, I have something to ask you."

I didn't answer at first, I was marveling at the way my name sounded on her lips. But I talked eventually, "Yes?"

"I was wondering…never mind." She stopped talking.

"What?"

"Nothing." Then class started, and I didn't have any more time to press the issue. We were identifying slides' phases of mitosis or something like that. She and I collaborated, because we shared a table. We finished first, I had been in an advanced placement program in Denali and, apparently, Bella was a genius.

We sat in silence for a little while, but then I saw Bella write something on her notebook page. I watched her from the corner of my eye, unwilling to actually show her that I was watching.

She tore out the page and passed it to me. It said:

**Did you see me naked?**

My mouth dropped open, and I looked at her. She was staring back at me, her eyes set, but her cheeks quite red. I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded my head 'yes'.

Her lips tightened, and she added to the paper.

**Why were you looking?**

**Did you put clothing and a bandage on me and Neosporin?**

I wrote back

I was looking because I wanted to see you.

And yes. I did. Sorry.

She wrote again

**It's okay. Thank you.**

You're welcome. Any time.

**No. Not anytime. Charlie will beat you too if you ever come to our house again.**

**Just don't come.**

**But thank you for saving my life.**

I figured that I could ask some questions now, if we were being open with each other.

Why would be beat me?

Why does he beat you?

Why not?

Who is Charlie?

You're welcome

**He would beat you because he would, and there's nothing you or I could do about it.**

**He beats me because he has nobody else to beat.**

**Just don't**

**Charlie? He's my father.**

**But you probably know him better as 'POLICE CHIEF SWAN.'**

I was shocked. Bella's father, the police chief, would beat her just because he wanted to. And he would rape her as well. I decided to ask, although I was sure that she wouldn't answer:

Why does he rape you?

You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

**Because he can't get a girl. Why else?**

You should stop him.

**How? Call the police?**

**They'd probably just help him rape me.**

**It's alright. I'll be fine.**

**And I'm moving out the day of my 18****th**** birthday**.

You should leave now.

You could move in with me and my family.

We're only next door.

**He'd see me with you**

**And then he'd find some way to arrest all four of you.**

**Probably kidnapping**

**And besides, I wouldn't want to impose.**

But then we'd get him arrested for child abuse.

Not that you're a child.

And, there are five of us. Emmett's at college.

You could have Emmett's room.

**Oh, sorry Emmett.**

It was clear that Bella was done with the conversation, so I moved it on to happier subjects.

I'm sure he wouldn't mind…unless I tell him!

**Uh oh…**

**What would Emmett do?**

I realized that she had probably misinterpreted my meaning. I smiled at her.

He'd probably ask you out.

That's what he does to all the girls that he meets.

I think it would be like torture to go out with Emmett

**I think it might be nice to go on a date.**

**What about you?**

**Do you try to date every girl you meet?**

I smiled softly at her.

I'll inform Emmett that a date may be in order

Obviously I don't try to date every girl I meet.

Otherwise I would have already asked you and Rosalie out.

**She's very pretty isn't she?**

Yes, supermodel pretty.

But I like real beauty better.

**You just lost me.**

Beauty from the inside, Bella!

**Oh, like**

"**This little light of mine…I'm gonna let it shine..."**

Are you making fun of me?

**Uh, yeah I guess.**

That's mean!

**You're right, I'm sorry.**

I was just kidding! I didn't really mean it!

**Sorry.**

**But thanks again for saving my life.**

**And thank you for binding my arm.**

You're welcome again.

Any time.

Really, I don't' care what your father says.

Bella rolled her eyes and ripped up the sheet of paper before tossing the strips into the recycle bin. Class was over after that. I spent the rest of the day without speaking, until I joined the girls at lunch.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello again! Here's my Sunday update! This one's a bit longer? It was 3 pages on Microsoft Word…so. Thanks to all you who reviewed!

**Maximum Ride all the way**

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and

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Oh, and there is another quote from the books in this chapter. If you tell be which book I'll give you a sneak peek of the next chapter, and if you tell me the page number I'll give you a longer sneak peek! Please review! Don't you want your name on that lovely little list up there?!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer! **

**Chapter Eight**

**BPOV**

During Biology, I decided to get the awkwardness out of the way. I mean, I'm usually not like that, but this was a special instance. How many times do you see the boy of your dreams then have him see you raped and save your life while you are naked. So I sent him a note, straightforwardly saying 'Did you see me naked.'

I knew that the answer was yes, but I decided to start the conversation with an obvious answer. I wanted him to tell the truth, and was grateful when he did. Then we talked for a while. Argued a bit, you see. I didn't want him coming back, I was grateful for what he had done for me, but I didn't want Charlie to see him. I saw afraid of him for my sake and Edward's. And Edward wanted me to get out of Charlie's house, just like Rose did. I told him what I always tell Rose. I promised to get out of the house as soon as I was old enough to legally live on my own.

I was afraid that he would ask about college. College is not an option for me. Charlie won't pay for it, and I certainly don't have enough money. I could apply for financial aid, but I doubt that I'll get enough to even bother. Maybe I can find a scholarship. But I probably won't because I just barely get my homework done these days considering that Charlie keeps me up at night tending to my injuries. Usually I'll hand in done, but second rate work. I average a B-.

I sort of hinted that the conversation was over after he started to talk about moving away from Charlie. He picked up on the hint instantly. For the last two periods I've been debating whether it would be worth it to ask Charlie if I could go to the dance in two weeks. He likes Tuesdays, he only works part time. But he spends the rest of the day at the bar. I couldn't guess what he would say.

Well, anyway, I went to lunch and couldn't wait to see Edward again. I wanted some girl time with Rose desperately as well, though. It was my good luck that I stopped to look into her Calculus class before going to lunch. She was still in there talking to the teacher, and right behind her was Edward.

Edward saw me looking in and he smiled at me, it was the smile of someone who just won a million dollars. I raised an eyebrow at him, hoping he'd fill me in, but he just waved and I blushed. Then Rosalie started walking toward the door and I was completely re-occupied. I caught her eye and she gathered her things very quickly.

"What," she said as she exited the classroom.

I pulled her into a small, deserted hallway. "I want your advice."

"Well I'm always here to give it!" she said.

"I was wondering…if…you think maybe it's a good idea to ask Charlie for permission to go to the Christmas dance in two weeks."

"I don't know Bella. Would he beat you?"

"I don't know. He only works part time on Tuesdays, so sometimes he's in a good mood, but sometimes he goes to the bar after work, so he's drunk."

"Hmm, I don't know what to tell you Bella. How about you wait until a team of his has won something or other…then ask. But why do you want to go?"

"I don't, I want to get out of the house. Maybe a date?"

Rosalie gasped, "Who asked you?"

"No one yet, but I was thinking of asking Edward…maybe."

"Oh! That would be amazing! You guys would be so great together! When are you going to ask him?"

"After I ask Charlie I guess."

"I'll ask him if he likes you, oh this will be perfect!" Rosalie bounded out of the hallway after Edward.

I arrived late to the cafeteria for lunch, having given Rosalie a moment to ask Edward whatever she wanted to. I thought that she was moving too fast, I mean, he'd only been in school for a week and I'd only known him, or seen him, for nine days. But I did bring up the subject, so it was sort of my fault.

I walked into the lunch room and saw all three of them sitting together; they all looked so alike, other than Rosalie's blonde hair. They were so pale, and beautiful. I supposed that I would fit into the pale category; I was often way too pale. And I was pretty skinny, not that it was my choice to be so. I was definitely not as beautiful as any of them, but from the back, maybe I would fit in. I made sure to sit so that my back was facing the rest of the lunch room.

When I sat with them, Edward's face lit up again. Maybe he had gotten a good test grade in Calculus…I didn't ask him what had happened. If he wanted to tell me, he would. "Hey Bella," Alice said, "Do you want to come over after school? My mom said that she would love to meet you!"

"Your mom?"

"Yeah, she says that she would love to meet our new neighbors, especially the girl that Edward – ow!" She jumped suddenly, as if someone had kicked her under the table. She elbowed Edward and he flinched away, rubbing his ribs. I didn't laugh, even though Alice was. I was imagining Edward being hurt, by Charlie. It wasn't a pretty picture in my mind. Not to mention that I rarely didn't have a bruise on my ribs.

But I thought back to what Alice had said, and Edward's smile of chagrin, "Wait, Edward talks about me?"

Alice opened her mouth, but Edward butted in, "Just once. I told them that I wanted to meet the girl whose truck I see every day."

"Edward has a bit of a car thing." Alice filled in.

"You want to see my truck? It must be from, like, the 1930s!"

"That's exactly why I want to see it," he said.

"Well, I suppose that I might be able to come over tomorrow, if I make a pizza or something." I thought about it, I could go over to their house and watch out for Charlie then climb through my window and pretend that I'd been home the entire time. It seemed risky, but reasonable.

"Well, if you don't have time, you don't have to…I don't want –" Edward said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want my dad to be hungry either!" I said. Alice looked at us curiously, but moved on in the conversation. I would ask Rosalie what Edward had said to her later.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello again! Thanks for all the reviews! Guess what? I'm one away from 100 reviews! I didn't even know that was possible!?! You guys are the best readers ever! The first person to review this chapter will be my 100th review! I'll send you something cool. And for all of you who reviewed chapter 8, you get a special mention!

**Shadow Kurayami Vixen**

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And hey, nobody found the quote: the only one, though I did receive a few nice tries! Thanks for looking guys! It's actually from Eclipse, on page 39 at the bottom of the page. At least, that's how it is on the hardcover version! Just for the record if you find the quote in the future, PM me and tell me what you think it is…of course, you can always just tell me in a review. I'll send everyone a sneak preview even if I think you've copied the answer from the reviews page! (I'm nice…I think?)

Last order of business:

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, and I don't own Twilight…though Jasper would be nice…**

This is my longest chapter yet! I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter Nine**

**EPOV**

Just before I reached the cafeteria doors, Bella's friend Rosalie from my Calculus class stopped me. She asked me whether I would like to date Bella or not. I assumed that Bella wanted to know, because I saw her take Rosalie into a mostly deserted hallway and talk to her. So I answered truthfully, and just said yes.

She was so pleased, but when Alice came by to talk she started prattling on about a Biology project. I took that as my cue to not talk about it; I hoped that I understood her body language. When Bella arrived at lunch, I felt my entire face light up, I'm sure I would have minded more if I wasn't so preoccupied with watching her. Alice then let the bomb drop. I think that Rosalie and Alice were both trying to get us together without realizing that the other was doing the same thing.

Alice was on my side, I'd told her about the beautiful neighbor, but not the beating and definitely not that I'd gone to her house. And I assume that Bella had told Rosalie about me.

Anyway, Alice invited Bella over to our house under the pretense of me wanting to see her 1930s Chevy truck, which actually _was_ pretty cool. I jammed Alice's toe into the floor when she was about to continue, and in retaliation she elbowed me. I didn't think anything of it until I saw Bella's expression. I realized that we were beating each other up in front of her. Not a good idea to freak out the girl that you love by abusing your sister in front of her. Especially if she's being abused by her father. I immediately stopped rubbing my ribs and chastised myself for hurting Alice.

So, every day after that, Bella kept her window shades just a little bit open in the downward direction, so I could see in, just barely, and she could see out, just barely, and Charlie wouldn't notice if he wasn't paying attention. I think that was a breakthrough in our 'relationship'. But she did come over on that Wednesday

When she arrived at my house after school, as all four of us had walked home together, my mother was home. Alice had told her that Bella was coming, and she had gone into overdrive. She had taken the day off from work and hired a maid service to clean up our house. My father did not get sick days, or rather, he didn't take them unless he really was sick. He loved his work too much, and since he spent so much time at the hospital, he didn't ever get sick anymore. I loved him, but he was definitely a workaholic. My mother had prepared an after school snack, something she hadn't done since I was in the 6th grade, and it was more of a meal than a snack! When Bella came in, she smelled the scones and cake baking, along with the tea brewing and immediately went to go help my mother in the kitchen. "It's an odd compulsion," she had explained to us.

I missed the conversation that she had had with my mother, but she came out of the kitchen loaded with goodies to set on the table looking flushed and happy. After our delicious second lunch/early dinner Alice stole Bella away from me to show off her own room. I went outside to look at her car as I had promised. It really was a messed up looking truck, obviously Charlie hadn't cared much what his daughter was driving. I checked the fading red truck for identifying marks, and found it to be around 70-80 years old. I was amazed that it was still running. Alice and Bella found me inside the main cabin of her car, examining the inner workings. Bella laughed. She knocked on the window and laughed. It was the first time that I had seen her laugh. It lit up her entire face. Now that I had seen her smile, let alone laugh, I realized what hurt there was on her face when it was not happy. The smile threw into perspective just how horrible Bella's life was. I mean, if I hadn't seen her smile in the few months that I'd known her, what must she be experiencing to make her so somber? But, of course, I already knew the answer to that question. But I didn't let my sadness show through and just let her smile and laugh fill my mind. She was so happy when she smiled and laughed. What must it take to get her that way? Me, I supposed. I was a crack up.

I smiled and rolled down the window, manually, it was great! She was rummaging in her backpack and came up with a small metal object. It was a key, she tossed it at me. "Here, want it?"

I caught it and laughed. "Thanks Bella. But it's your car."

"But do you want to take it for a ride? As long as you have it back in a few minutes, I'll be fine."

I raised one eyebrow, and answered her question by plugging the key in to the car and twisting it. The car revved to life and sat idling, making an obscene amount of noise. But I had been expecting that, I'd seen Bella drive before. I took her car for a spin around the block. Later Alice told me that Bella has spent the entire time that I was driving, staring after me like I was the next messiah. I took her to my room when I got back, and showed her my music collection, and she looked through my window to her room, she was finally getting the view that I saw every time I looked out this window. I wondered if I'd ever get the favor repaid. We talked for a while with Alice. My mom came in from time to time and talked with us a bit. I promised to teach her how to play piano, she was so entranced my playing! But not long afterward, Alice, who had a knack for these sorts of things, looked out the window at the very same instant that Charlie's police cruiser started down the street.

The blood drained from Bella's face and she ran back to her house without even a goodbye. It saddened me to see her so afraid of her father. Carlisle would never beat anyone. He hated violence of any sort; I mean he's a doctor! But, of course, Charlie is a police officer.

I watched her out of my window and saw her at school every day (except on weekends) for two weeks, until the day of the dance. Then she asked me out.

She walked up to me after school and said, "Are you free tomorrow afternoon?" she had a new bruise above her left eye.

"Why?" I said stupidly.

"I was, um, sort of wonderingifyouwantedtospendthedaywithme."

"What?"

"Do you want to spend the afternoon with me, after school?"

"Yes, definitely!" I was really psyched. If this wasn't like a date, I would have been really surprised. But I was sure, with the way that her eyes lit up, that it was. Not to mention the really big hug that she gave me. She was much shorter than me, so she wrapped her arms around my waist.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everybody, I meant to post yesterday, but I just got caught up. There's an event at my school tomorrow and I've been really stressed. I was volunteering all weekend and then Sunday came and went. I didn't even remember to reply to all of the reviews until after seven, and then I got kicked off of the computer. I'm just awful like that. Sorry, only one day shouldn't make too big of a fuss, should it? Sorry!

Anyway, business as usual: thank you to all of my loyal subjects who reviewed chapter 9!

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And a special thanks to **bitten-sln** who was my 100th review! Yes! I have now 116 reviews! Yes!

Alright, well…um, this is my longest chapter yet…I do my best to please you guys who want more! I think it's over 2000 words! There are three quotes from Twilight in this chapter…one's only half a sentence though, so if you find the page numbers PM me and I'll send you a sneak preview of the next chapter! On time this time! Um, what else…oh yeah:

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, never was, never will be. *tear***

I think that's it! Enjoy Chapter Ten!

**Chapter Ten**

**BPOV**

I went to Edward and Alice's house one evening, a Wednesday if I remember correctly. I hitched a ride in Edward's Volvo to and from school, leaving the red monstrous truck that he wanted to see in the driveway of my house.

Their house was spotless, a stark comparison to mine. I cleaned up to please Charlie, but he was too short to regularly check if I dusted, and I knew for a fact that the only place in the house that was really in shipshape was the kitchen. The part of the house that belonged to me. And speaking of the kitchen, when I walked into the house, I had never smelled anything better in my life! I left Edward and Alice to go help their mother in the kitchen.

"Hello." I had said timidly, interrupting her as she was taking something yummy looking scones out of the oven.

"Oh hello dearest!" said Edward's mother, "You must be Bella! Edward and Alice talk about you all the time!"

"Really?"

"Oh yes, of course! Alice was so excited when she told me that you were coming over. Edward was too, of course, but he has a different way of showing his emotions than us women do…he actually plays the piano a bunch. That's how he shows emotion. I haven't heard something morose or sad in the last few weeks, actually. But I am just rambling, and I haven't even introduced myself yet!"

I laughed nervously. I could trust this happy, bubbling woman. "Can I help you with anything Mrs. Cullen?"

"Oh sure, why don't you plate these scones, but please call me Esme!"

I smiled at her and took a plate out of the cabinet above the sink, where she had pointed me. Maybe it was just coincidence, but Esme's plates were located in the exact same place as mine. Esme was already icing a cake, and she finished that as I was stacking the cones neatly on the plate. Alice came in to help set the table, and I didn't know what Edward had done with this time while we were doing the women's work.

When Alice, too, had gone (to find Edward) Esme and I had a nice little chat. We talked about mostly girl stuff. It was nice to have someone to talk to. I don't think she knew that my mother had walked out on me when I was seven. But she didn't have to. I sensed that she would be this kind and loving no matter if I had a mother or not. Edward, Alice, and the elusive Emmett were very lucky to have her. If she was my mother, I would be immensely happy.

After the snack, Alice decided to show me her room. It was on the second floor, on the opposite side of the house as Edward's. It had a private bathroom attached to it. We talked for a little bit, but I no longer remember what about. Most likely it was gossip from school, nothing major happened that day. Edward looked at my car, and I let him drive it a bit. Esme talked with the three of us a bit and had Edward play the piano for me, since we had talked about it so much. It was so amazing. He _had_ to go into music as a profession. He would be the biggest piano player since Mozart! He promised to teach me how to play.

But not long afterward, Alice looked out the window at the very same instant that Charlie's police cruiser started down the street. I left very quickly through the back door, Edward let me out and Alice and Esme said goodbye in the front room, thinking that I was going out the front. I went in the back door of my house and pretended that I had been making dinner all along.

And then I did it, the exact day before the dance I asked Edward if he wanted to spend the upcoming afternoon with me. I was terrified that he would say 'no'. Then would we still be friends? I wasn't sure that I could live without Edward. I know that I was moving sort of fast, but he was who I thought of when I wanted to die. His was the face that pulled me up from my depression. I wasn't happy about the way I lived, but at least Edward lived next door.

I'm pretty sure that he watched me every day, so he must have seen Charlie rape me again, and beat me every night. It amazed me that he still wanted to be near me much less spend a day with me. But all of my dreams were coming true, so I wasn't going to complain.

When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve if it's not exactly perfect.

School dragged by for me that next day, and then it was time to see Edward. He caught up with me after school, and hopped into my truck. "Hey," he said, "How'd you get away from Charlie?"

I wasn't surprised that we were starting with the questions, "I told him that I was spending the afternoon with Rosalie and then going to the dance. He didn't mind too much. He said that we have to keep up appearances after all."

"Appearances?"

"Well yeah, nobody can suspect that he beats and rapes me." I was surprised at how calmly I could talk about my situation with Charlie.

"I see, but we're not actually going to the dance are you?"

"Unless you want to." I said.

"I want to do whatever you want to do."

"And I as well. But I'll bet that I get out less than you. What do you like to do on a sunny day?" I was so happy to just be getting out of my hell hole of a house that I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. Apparently my enthusiasm was catching, Edward couldn't stop smiling either.

"Well," he said, "You've lived here longer than I have."

"But I've never been on a date."

"Nether have I."

"Really?" I was surprised that a boy that was as handsome as Edward had never had a girlfriend before. I definitely didn't count; this was just a first date. Knowing Charlie, it would be an only date. I was determined to make it count.

Edward shook his head, "I never met anyone that I really liked before I met you."

"Neither have I, but you still probably have more of an idea what to do. All I've got for reference is Rosalie, who 'doesn't date'."

"Well, I guess that's true, Alice had a boyfriend when we lived in Texas. His name was Jasper. They went for walks in town, but we probably don't want to do that if we want to stay out of Charlie's sight. Um, sometimes they wandered on his family farm. How about we walk along the forest by our street?"

That sounded fine to me, so I parked my truck at a trailhead and we started hiking. It was very nice, because I kept tripping and Edward would catch me. He was quite good at catching. Every time that he touched me my heart pounded wildly. Edward would let go of me quickly after each catch, and I couldn't bring myself to initiate contact. I just didn't to that. Ever. So I would sort of trip on purpose sometimes. We walked near each other, very close but not touching.

Eventually we reached the end of the trail. I stepped through the last fringe of ferns into the loveliest place I had ever seen. I the meadow was small, perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers. Somewhere nearby I could hear the bubbling music of a stream. I walked slowly, awestruck, through the soft grass, swaying flowers, and warm gilded air with him. He reached out and took my hand. I froze for a moment, but instead of letting go, I clutched him tighter. His eyes were wary, watching my reaction to his touch. I squeezed his hand a little bit to let him know that I was great.

He spoke first, "This is amazing."

I agreed, "It's beautiful, did you know about this?"

"No, I've never been here before." I trusted him. We just sat in silence for a long while. Eventually he relaxed and lay down in the grass. He was beautiful. I could have just sat there and watched him forever. But he still had my hand, so I was pulled into an impossible position. It was irrational, but I was not willing to let go of him so I lay down next to him.

He smiled and pressed my arm to his body, so our bodies were close, barely touching but touching nonetheless.

I smiled too. This was nothing like the contact I had with Charlie. I was worried. I knew that not everybody is like Charlie, but deep inside, everybody has a bit of bad in them. I didn't believe that Edward could ever hurt me, but now I was sure that he was the only person in the world that didn't have any bad in him.

We lay that way for the longest time. We watched the sun set and I didn't remember in the slightest that I was supposed to be home by ten o' clock. When it was around nine, I asked Edward to check his watch. He did and we started to walk back. We had to move fast, and I kept tripping (not on purpose this time).

He said, "Bella, may I pick you up?"

I was hesitant, but with my recent epiphany I decided that maybe it was alright to let a boy carry me. But only if he was Edward. I nodded and he lifted me up by knocking my knees out from under me and carrying me bridal style. But the way that he knocked me into his arms reminded me of Charlie's punishments. How he would punch me, then knock me down by kicking my knees out from under me and then kick me repeatedly in the ribs. I screamed and struggled until I was free from Edward's arms. I started running down the trail, toward my house and away from Edward.

I didn't get far before I tripped over a large-ish stone and went flying. I ended up landing on my hands and knees in front of a rotting log off of the path.

I heard Edward calling after me and I shuffled closer to the entrance to the log. I heard his footsteps run by me through the trees.

"Bella?" he was calling for me, "Bella? Are you alright, I wasn't going to hurt you! I couldn't ever hurt you! I promise!"

I didn't move and let him pass. I eventually got up and trudged toward my truck. I saw that it was in exactly the same spot as always. I examined myself in the dark windows and ended up picking a little bit of brush out of my hair I also dusted off my clothing and straightened my hair. There was a white piece of paper folded on my seat. I got in and closed the door before I unfolded it. Two words were written in his elegant script.

I'm sorry

I recognized Edward's calligraphy immediately. I just looked at it, silently as the tears streamed down my face. I had thought that he was good, and I still thought that. I felt awful that I was hurting him because of Charlie. I knew that he wasn't going to hurt me. Now, in the safety of my truck I could see how stupid I was being. But although my mind knew that Edward was safe to be with, my body didn't and I couldn't stop shaking. I drove, shakily, back to my house. I entered the house and saw a pizza on the table. I didn't take any. I wasn't hungry, and I didn't know how Charlie would react if I took pizza from him.

I still had Edward's note crushed in my hand. I took it upstairs to my room. I switched on the light and there was Charlie.

I almost screamed. Charlie shut my door and checked to see whether or not the blinds were closed. I knew that they were a little bit open, as always, but he didn't notice. "Undress," he said. I took off all of my clothes, piece by piece. I dropped them in a pile on the floor.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello everyone! Thanks for reviewing to all who did just that! They are all mentioned here:

**Olympic1340**

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**bitten-sln**

**IloveEdwardNotJacob**

**twilight-vamp**

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**aebteach**

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**Loulabelle**

**...baby.**

**EmilieLovesJasperHale**

and

**Layla Lawliet**

The three quotes from Twilight were:

"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve"… (The next bit is: "when it comes to an end", but I changed it!) (It is from pg.1, come on guys!)

"I stepped through the last fringe of ferns into the loveliest place I had ever seen. I the meadow was small, perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers. Somewhere nearby I could hear the bubbling music of a stream. I walked slowly, awestruck, through the soft grass, swaying flowers, and warm gilded air with him." (pg. 259)

And

"There was a white piece of paper folded on my seat. I got in and closed the door before I unfolded it. Two words were written in his elegant script." (pg. 249)

Only **aebteach **guessed one of them! Come on guys!

There is another quote in this chapter. If someone doesn't PM me or review with the page number this time I'll scream! And I won't update Chapter thirteen either. So there! And if you find it (even without the page number) I will send you a sneak preview of Chapter thirteen!

Oh, and I have also submitted Chapter twelve at this point because this one is really short (1164 words) and I couldn't find a way to make it any longer. Thanks! I _know_ that this is a really long A/N, sorry!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Eleven**

**EPOV**

When Bella started screaming, at first I held her tighter; an instinct to protect her from whatever was scaring her. But when she started struggling against me I dropped her, realizing that she was scared of me. I thought she had told me that it was alright to carry her. Well, she ran away screaming.

I continued back toward her truck, hoping to find her there. I had no such luck, so I dropped a note onto the driver's seat of her truck through the open window. I wrote 'I'm sorry' on it. I figured that if I took it slow and simple she would know that I really meant her no harm.

Well, I walked home after that. When I got home I went straight to my room and watched out the window for her to come home. I didn't have to wait long. I had a considerable head start on her, but she had a car. I watched the truck pull into her driveway and I smiled at her, but she didn't look my way. It wasn't too much later when I saw Bella in her room with Charlie.

It made me sick that her father was able to use her the way that he did. I was about to walk on over there and knock on the door to get his attention, but Alice walked in. I snapped my blinds shut and went to sit on the bed with her.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked me.

"Awful." I said.

"Oh, sorry, I was _sure_ that is would end well! Do you want to talk about it?"

I did, really, but I said "No." because I couldn't talk bout it with her in order to protect Bella's privacy. I really needed to talk to Rosalie who already knew about the abuse. I was going to call her, but I figured that Alice didn't need to know. I decided to wait until Alice left. That didn't work out. Alice only left when my mother called us to dinner. I sat through dinner in silence. My parents understood that that meant that the date hadn't gone well. And it had, up until the very end.

After dinner I went back to my room and looked out the window. I wanted to make sure that Bella was alright. I couldn't see, because the blinds were closed. But there was a sheet of printer paper taped to her window. It said:

**I'm sorry too.**

I just sat down on my bed and stared at that sign for the rest of the night.

Then it was morning. I made myself look fairly presentable and then stepped out onto the street. I wanted the fresh air and was going to walk to school. I was sure that it would wake me up from whatever stupor I was stuck in. Alice was going to have to drive herself. It was my luck that Rosalie happened to be driving by to pick up Bella at the exact same time. I flagged her down.

"Hey Edward. Do you need a ride? How'd your date go?"

What is it with these females and their inexhaustible quest for knowledge? "Hey Rosalie," I responded, "I'd like to walk today, thank you, and I actually want to talk to you about Bella."

Her eyes tightened, "What?"

"Look," I said, "I know all about," I coughed, "Charlie. When we were walking yesterday I picked Bella up and then she started screaming and she ran away. I felt awful, but I want to know what I did wrong."

Rosalie pursed her lips. "I can't say much, but I'm pretty sure that whatever happened, you probably scared her into thinking that you would hurt her. I did that once, before I knew about Charlie and her. She didn't talk to me for three weeks. Actually, she avoided me for three weeks. That's how I learned about it, you know."

I nodded.

"Most physical contact scares her, actually. Why in the world would you pick her up?"

"She said it was alright."

Rosalie cocked an eyebrow. "Weird. But actually I have to go and pick Bella up... not literally. Are you sure that you don't want a ride."

"I'm sure. And I don't think that Bella would want me to ride with her in any case."

"True. I'll see you at lunch. Be persistent in seeing Bella. That's what I did. I was _very_ persistent. She'll get over it. Don't worry, you two were made for each other!" She drove the extra few feet toward Bella's house.

I continued walking to school. I got there just in time for Biology; Bella was sitting in her normal spot, smiling at me. I smiled back, and went to sit at my normal spot, next to her. When I sat down, however, Bella scooted her chair away from me. It was like that first day all over again. She said, "Hi Edward."

I said 'hi' back. Mr. Banner still hadn't come into the room yet, I was puzzled until I saw him wheeling a huge projector into the room. The moment that Mr. Banner turned off the lights, I was hyperaware of Bella right next to me. A crazy impulse to reach over and touch her, to stroke her bruised face just once in the darkness, nearly overwhelmed me. I crossed my arms tightly across my chest, my hands balling into fists. I was loosing my mind.

My eyes, of their own accord, flickered over to her. I smiled sheepishly as I realized that her posture was identical to mine, fist clenched under her arms, right down to the eyes, peering sideways at me. She grinned back at me.


	12. Chapter 12

As you know, I posted this chapter today because the last one was so short and this one is too! I already mentioned the people who reviewed chapter 10, so I won't do it again. I also will not be telling you the quote and page number for the last chapter until I post again on Sunday, Chapter thirteen! That is, unless nobody tells me on what pages of Twilight the two quotes from this chapter and the one quote from last chapter are and I decide to hold Chapter thirteen hostage! I'll post that I'm holding it hostage then on Sunday…so review with the two page numbers! I don't care if you review or PM! Please just tell me! I'm feeling underappreciated! But I know you guys care, I'm just complaining. Sorry!

And to clear a few things up: Everyone's human to the very last particle! Also, somebody mentioned the state police, here's the problem: Bella knows, because she's looked it up, that even in the case of immediate danger to somebody, the police need a warrant to search somebody's house. Do you think that the police would go to that much trouble to arrest one of their own? Just look at the policemen and women who have gotten away with beating people that they have arrested! I hope that I'm not offending anybody, but even police officers are only human and will fall prey to human intentions and wants. Also, Charlie does his best to intimidate Bella and it has worked. The reason that she won't leave before she's 18 is because he would find her quite easily, being a police officer and all of that jazz…

Oh! And review telling me what you think of the Twilight soundtrack…especially Rob's singing!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie and I don't mean any copyright infringement by playing with her characters a bit…playing with ice instead of fire…oooo! **

**Chapter Twelve**

**BPOV**

He walked me to my next class in silence and paused at the door; I turned to say goodbye. His face startled me – his expression was torn, almost pained, and so fiercely beautiful that the ache to touch him flared as strong as before. My goodbye stuck in my throat.

He raised his hand, hesitant, conflict raging in his eyes, and then swiftly brushed the length of my cheekbone with his fingertips. He turned without a word and strode away from me. I reached up and touched my fingertips to the place that he had touched. It followed the line of Charlie's most recent mark on my face. I winced in pain at my own touch though oddly I hadn't felt anything but pleasure when Edward touched me. I marveled at the delicacy of Edward's touch. I went into Trigonometry that day in a daze.

Lunch was torture. I sat in between Alice and Rosalie, my body relaxed a bit. I couldn't stop smiling at Edward, even though I didn't speak. They all knew to leave me alone.

The day passed, I went home. I went into my bedroom to hopefully get some homework done, but then Charlie came home. I had forgotten about dinner. I quickly ran into the kitchen and started to take out the food necessary to make a quick fish meal. He noticed though, that I hadn't started yet.

Charlie punched me in the shoulder, knocking me into the wall. He shouted at me, called me names. He started punching and kicking me so hard that all I could think about was him, him hurting me.

Each time his body contacted my body was another wave of pain. He laughed when I screamed. Eventually he stopped hitting me. But then he picked me up by the collar of my shirt. I felt him dragging me somewhere, up the stairs. But I couldn't see because one of my eyes was swollen shut, and the other was covered, smashed into his body. "This, I've always wanted to try, but I'd better do it now, or soon you'll be too heavy!"

We had reached the top of the stairs. "Stand." He said. I did as I was told, hoping to avoid more pain. But then I felt the worst pain yet.

He kicked my knees out from under me and my legs crumpled. I fell, I tumbled, and I rolled down the stairs. I didn't have the strength to keep myself balled up anymore. I opened up, flailing, trying to grab the banister or something. But Charlie followed me down, kicking and stepping on my hands when I reached out. I reached the bottom of the staircase and stopped moving. With my last effort, my hand instinctively raised to protect my face. My eyes closed, and I drifted.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello everyone! How are you? Thanks to everyone who just reviewed:

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And thanks to all of you who reviewed _and_ left me with their quote-findings. Thanks guys! It's amazing the kind of turnout that you get when you threaten to hold back your writing! (lol, just kidding guys!):

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Three quick notes: I got a review asking me why my story is so similar to Heaven Forbid by Stephy08. I got a chance to read it and here's what I got. It is the story that I read a few years ago and that gave me such inspiration. Now, the premise of this one is a bit different and I'm definitely going somewhere else than Stephy08 did. But actually, their story is only three chapters and an author's note. So I would love to see how it progresses, but at this point I am not going to change this story. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, and I would like to extend lots of love and thanks to Stephy08 for letting me make my own version this Twilight fan fiction. It truly was my idea, and I'm not copying anything that they wrote.

Another thing is that I, again, posted two chapters today because both were short. Chapter Fifteen is longer, though. Thanks for bearing with me!

The last thing is this: I took a bunch of dialogue from this chapter straight from Twilight, and it's so much a part of the chapter that I won't ask you guys to identify it. It's from pages 453-455!

And that reminds me (yeah, I know, this is a fourth thing…sorry!): these were the quotes and page numbers from Chapter Eleven:

"I was hyperaware of Bella right next to me. A crazy impulse to reach over and touch her, to stroke her bruised face just once in the darkness, nearly overwhelmed me. I crossed my arms tightly across my chest, my hands balling into fists. I was loosing my mind.

My eyes, of their own accord, flickered over to her. I smiled sheepishly as I realized that her posture was identical to mine, fist clenched under her arms, right down to the eyes, peering sideways at me. She grinned back at me." (Page 218-219 of Twilight)

Chapter Twelve's quotes were:

"He walked me to my next class in silence and paused at the door; I turned to say goodbye. His face startled me – his expression was torn, almost pained, and so fiercely beautiful that the ache to touch him flared as strong as before. My goodbye stuck in my throat.

He raised his hand, hesitant, conflict raging in his eyes, and then swiftly brushed the length of my cheekbone with his fingertips. He turned without a word and strode away from me." (Page 220 of Twilight)

And

"With my last effort, my hand instinctively raised to protect my face. My eyes closed, and I drifted." (Page 451 of Twilight)

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

I'm sorry that this author's note was so long!

**Chapter Thirteen**

**EPOV**

I was in my room, watching Bella's blinds, hoping that she would open them. I was sure that she wouldn't, though. I was sure that my mom would call me to dinner soon enough, though, and then I would do my homework.

But she never got the chance. I heard my father yell. "Oh my God!" My father is usually a very devout man, and I was surprised to hear him use the Lord's name in vain. I knew something was wrong then, and I ran up the stairs to find him in his office. He was watching something through his window. It also faced a window on Bella's house. I looked out with him and saw Charlie, dragging his daughter up the stairs by her collar. I couldn't speak for fear.

Dad turned to go help, he had no idea. But then I saw her fall. She was falling down the stairs, and I whimpered in terror. There was no way that she could survive a fall down a two-flight staircase! My dad turned back around and joined me at the window again for one second before grabbing his doctor's bag and flying down the stairs again. I knew that he would be over at her house without a doubt in a few seconds, so I went after him.

When we got there I saw her through the peephole in the door. She was lying at the bottom of the stairs, dead, and I didn't see Charlie anywhere. I banged on the door. I heard Charlie yell, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

He opened the door and said, "Is there anything I can do for you?" He eyed Carlisle's bag, "If you're selling something, I'm not buying."

"No sir," said my father, "I saw you throw your daughter down the stairs and I was wondering if I could help her."

"No."

"Why not!" he demanded!

"I'll get in trouble."

My dad opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, I could see that Charlie was about to shut the door in our faces so I thought fast. "We won't report you for this if you just let us help her. Otherwise we _will_ report you."

He eyed us speculatively, obviously remembering that I had seen him beat Bella so many weeks ago, then let us in.

I ran over to Bella as quickly as I could. I couldn't detect breathing coming from her mangled body. All of the parts of her arms and legs that were revealed by her clothing were covered in bruises that were just starting to show themselves. Her hands were lying on the floor next to her and the right hand was mangled in a strange position. Her left eye was swollen shut and her neck was black and blue I didn't have to look to know that the rest of her would be covered in bruises. And she was lying motionless, not breathing, on the floor by the base of the stairs, one leg still on the bottom step. "Oh no, Bella, no!" I shouted, as if that would wake her up.

Carlisle took her pulse; according to him she was still alive, but only barely. "Bella, please! Bella, listen to me, please, please, Bella, please!"

Carlisle was talking quietly to Charlie, asking him if there was a bed for her to lie down on. Charlie led us to her room, I carried my beautiful Bella. As I carried her, her shallow breathing stuttered. I rushed to her bed, "Carlisle!" I shouted to get his attention; he seemed to sense the urgency and ran to my side.

Carlisle took her pulse again, biting his lip horribly. I could see that he wasn't getting very good results. The grief overwhelmed me. "Bella, Bella, no, oh please, no, no!" and I started crying. I don't cry as a general rule, I probably hadn't cried since the second grade, but here I was, crying over Bella Swan's dead body.

Carlisle started examining her, which told me that there was still a chance. Then she gasped, filling her lungs, and cried out in pain. "Bella!" I crowed. I was so happy! Carlisle nodded to himself, taking her pulse again.

"She's lost some blood, but the head wound isn't deep." He said, "Watch out for her leg, it's broken." I was enraged, "Some ribs, too, I think." Carlisle said. "And her hand. Almost all of it is broken."

I looked at her hand more closely; there was a bloody boot mark clearly visible on her palm. Charlie had obviously stepped on it to break it. I howled in rage. I was about to go and kill him myself, but even as I got up to go, I realized that nothing in this world could make me leave Bella in what could be her last moments. I sat back down.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey again! I already thanked all those who reviewed for Chapters Eleven and Twelve, but thanks again! And also: almost nothing from this chapter is my actual writing. It's all from Chapter Twenty-Three of Twilight. I wont ask you to identify it because I just did, but you should know that I just put this in and changed it a bit to fit my story. Thanks a bunch! Enjoy!

And in case you didn't catch this the first time: I, again, posted two chapters today because both were short. Chapter Fifteen is longer, though. Thanks for bearing with me!

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, and although I just stole her words and characters, it is for my and my reader's enjoyment only! **

**Chapter Fourteen**

**BPOV**

As I drifted, I dreamed.

I was brought back, almost to the surface, by a sharp pain slashing through my upraised hand, but I couldn't find my way back far enough to open my eyes.

And then I knew I was dead.

Because, through the heavy water, I heard the sound of an angel calling my name, calling me to the only heaven I wanted.

"Oh no, Bella, no!" the angel's voice cried in horror. "Bella, please! Bella, listen to me, please, please, Bella, please!" he begged.

Yes, I wanted to say. Anything. But I couldn't find my lips.

"Carlisle!" the angel called, agony in his perfect voice. "Bella, Bella, no, oh please, no, no!" And the angel was sobbing, broken sobs.

The angel shouldn't weep, it was wrong. I tried to find him, to tell him everything was fine but the water was so deep, it was pressing on me, and I couldn't breathe.

There was a point of pressure against me head. It hurt. Then, as that pain broke through the darkness to me, other pains came, stronger pains. I cried out gasping, breaking through the dark pool.

"Bella!" the angel cried.

"She's lost some blood, but the head wound isn't deep," a calm voice informed me. "Watch out for her leg, it's broken."

I felt a sharp stab in my side. This couldn't be heaven, could it? There was too much pain for that.

"Some ribs too, I think," the methodical voice continued, "And her hand. Almost all of it is broken."

Something raised my hand, which was no longer covering my face. I gasped with the pain and it was quickly put down again.

A howl of rage strangled in the angel's lips.

"Edward." I tried to talk to him, but my voice was so heavy and slow. I couldn't understand myself.

"Bella, you're going to be fine. Can you hear me Bella? I love you."

"Edward." I tried again. My voice was a little clearer.

"Yes, I'm here."

"It hurts," I whimpered.

"I know, Bella, I know" – and then, away from me, anguished – "can't you do anything?"

I felt a sharp stab in my arm; it hurt, but not nearly as much as my hand or leg. I whimpered.

"It's alright Bella. Just relax, you're safe now."

"Edward," I tried to say, but I couldn't hear my voice. They could hear me.

"He's right here, Bella."

"Stay, Edward, stay with me…"

"I will. Sleep now, Bella."

The water lapped at my legs and I willing followed Edward's direction to relax.


	15. Chapter 15

Hello friends! Here's another chapter. It's a bit longer this time! And guess what? I've made it to over 220 reviews! Thanks a billion to these awesome people! (And there's a lot of them!)

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There are two quotes in this one, both obscure. One from Twilight and the other from Eclipse! I want at least five people to send me at least guesses or else I will withhold the next chapter from you!

Two announcements: I'm starting another story! Go to my profile and check it out! It's very different from this one!

And the lovely **slmCandle** has posted some Twilight fanfic/poetry on their profile, go check it out!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer! **

Happy Holidays to all! (Just in case I have to withhold my Sunday update!)

**Chapter Fifteen**

**EPOV**

I watched as Bella quickly succumbed to sleep again, and helped Carlisle the best that I could. I helped Carlisle brace her leg, and then wrapped her head in gauze while he bound and splinted her hand. "We should take her to the hospital." Carlisle said. I agreed and I carried her out of the house under Charlie's watchful glare.

We got to the hospital emergency room quite quickly. You see, I knew where Charlie keeps his keys to the cruiser. Carlisle wasn't pleased with me 'stealing' a car, but he understood the urgency of the situation and didn't complain. Besides, I _was_ going to give it back!

I sat with Bella for three days and two nights. And then she woke up. I could tell because her breathing changed. I could tell _that_ because she was hooked up to a breathing monitor, and all sorts of other machines. I looked up from a book that I had been reading, _Romeo and Juliet_. I walked over from my chair to her bedside. I saw her struggling to open her eyes. I watched as she fell back asleep again without ever looking up.

It was another day before Bella _really_ woke up. I wasn't surprised that it took her four days. According to the nurses and doctors who had helped Carlisle in the emergency room, she was beat up so badly that they were sure there would be some permanent damage, on her hand at the very least. It made me sad that Bella may not ever be able to use her right hand again. I didn't know whether she was right handed or not. Hopefully not.

Just as Bella was waking up again, Rosalie walked into the room. She had been visiting every day with Alice, but had been going home to sleep, unlike me. Charlie had come once, probably to 'keep up appearances', and hadn't come back since. But Bella was going to live. How well? Nobody could know for sure.

Rosalie went to sit on the bed with Bella while talking to her quietly. The doctors said that this would help her wake up faster. I smiled and went back to my book. Rosalie left after a while; she was going down to the café to get us both some lunch.

I went over and took Rosalie's spot as soon as she was gone. I took Bella's left hand and rubbed small circles on the back of it with my thumb while being careful of the bruises on it. Apparently Charlie had destroyed this hand as well, but not as thoroughly. "Bella? Love?"

She stirred; the heart monitor sped a bit. "Bella? It's me, Edward. You've been asleep for a very long time and I'm starting to worry."

Bella shifted her position, she moaned a little. "Bella? Bells, honey, can you hear me?" I quickly took my hand away. Her hand started groping on the bed. I guessed that she was looking for something to hold. I placed my hand back into hers. She relaxed. Her eyes opened. "Bella!" I said joyfully.

"Ed –" she took a deep breath and used all of it on one word, "Edward."

"I'm here, Bella."

"What" another breath, "happened."

"Charlie," she flinched at the name, "was beating you, and then he threw you down the stairs. My father saw and the two of us invaded your house to rescue you."

"Will I" breath, "be" breath, "okay?"

"I don't know Bella, I really couldn't say."

"Why?"

"Nobody knows. Not many people come to the hospital this beat up. You have a broken leg, a cracked skull, a smashed hand, a few broken ribs, um fifty-seven stitches in various places, and quite a few other minor injuries. You'll be fine, I know that, but the doctors say –" I stopped, not wanting to freak her out.

"What?"

"They say that you'll be fine."

"Liar."

"Alright, many of them agree that you may never be able to regain full use of your right hand. It's in a cast now, can you tell?" Sarcasm was invented for times like this.

She laughed weakly, then started coughing. I patted her on the back and reached for her water. I dripped some into her mouth. She swallowed convulsively, so I tilted the cup and poured more in. Eventually, the coughing subsided. She opened her eyes, and I smiled at her. "That's" breath, "twice," breath, "now."

"Twice now what?"

"You" breath, "saved me."

"Oh, I suppose."

"Thank" breath, "you."

I grinned at her, "Any time."

She laughed again, and I reached for the water to help her stop coughing. She winced with the pain; I assumed that it was her broken ribs. I smiled softly at her, and she smiled back. I laughed, and she frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Charlie" breath, "laughed at me."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. Truly. I was laughing because you're so darn cute." She smiled again, "Really!" I poked her nose, which was unharmed. "You're cute as a button!" Her eyes were drifting toward the stage of 'closed' again when Rosalie came back with food.

"Hey Edward, I'm sorry 'bout the hold up. The line was ferocious today. Here." She handed came toward me with a turkey sandwich in hand when she saw that my hands were occupied, cupped around Bella's. "Oh, sorry, I'll just go…" she still hadn't realized that Bella was awake.

I was about to make clear her mistake, but Bella beat me to it. "Hey," breath, "Rose."

"Oh!" Rosalie, who had been backing out the door, ran forward to take a spot near the foot of Bella's bed.

I got up, and started to head for the door, picking up my book on the way, "I'll leave you to have some girl time, I suppose." The heart monitor that was hooked up to Bella suddenly went crazy, she was hyperventilating. I rushed back to her side, trying to find out what was wrong. She had trouble moving anything, even I could see that, but she made the effort for me. The moment I was within arms reach of her, she stretched her arm out and even lifted it off of the bed. She was searching for me.

"Don't leave me!" she shouted, then started coughing because she had not even bothered to take a breath in between words.

I eyed her speculatively. Then I sighed, reading the terror in her eyes. "I'll just go take a nap, Bella." I retreated, with my book, to the chair that I had occupied before Rosalie left to get lunch. Once Bella saw, with her unbruised eye, that I wasn't going anywhere, she turned back to Rosalie.


	16. Chapter 16

Hello everyone, Happy Hannukkah and soon to be Happy Christmas! (I say happy, deal with it). I'm sorry that I responded to reviews so late, and sorry that I haven't posted this on time! This past week has been such a hassle for me, as it has been for most, so I'm totally frazzled. Thanks a bunch everyone. I'll be updating again on Wednesday to make up for this late post! And if you haven't already, please check out my new story, ! Thanks to my reviewers:

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There are two quotes in this chapter, both from Breaking Dawn!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Sixteen **

**BPOV**

I don't know what happened, one moment I was cradled in Edward's arms, the next I was waking up in a really uncomfortable bed with an oddly flat pillow in an uncomfortable paper gown. Everything was white and my movement was very much restricted. This must be the hospital. Wow, so I really _was_ safe from Charlie. And Edward was there. His voice was what had made me awaken.

He had said, "Bella? Love?" and then, "Bella? It's me, Edward. You've been asleep for a very long time and I'm starting to worry."

That was what woke me up. If I owed Edward anything, it was peace of mind; I've probably disturbed it as much as I possibly could have. I struggle to open my eyes, but I did. He was overjoyed. Then I tried to tell him that I was alright, even though I was in pain all over. That was a bad idea, when I took a deep breath to speak; it hurt like my chest was on fire. All I could say was his name; he was pleased enough, though, as it was.

What I wanted to know then, was why I hurt so much! I asked Edward what had happened to me. He only told me what I already knew. I was preoccupied though, when he answered my second question. Would I be alright?

He said, "You have a broken leg, a cracked skull, a smashed hand, a few broken ribs, um fifty-seven stitches in various places, and quite a few other minor injuries."

I wasn't surprised. I was sure about the ribs, as it hurt to even breathe, the minor injuries was a given. I always had those. My hand, I didn't remember it being smashed, but I did remember Edward lifting it and the searing pain that went along with that. The stitches and cracked skull were new, though. But Edward continued to say something dreadful. He told me that a lot of the doctors thought that I wouldn't be able to use my hand fully again. Ever. But that was a small matter compared to my life. I was so grateful to Edward and his father for saving my life, again. It seemed that I owed these Cullens more than I thought.

I said that, and Edward said, "Any time." it made me laugh, but that hurt too. He gave me a little water, but I was so thirsty, a little water was not going to do it for me. He gave me the rest of a glass. Then he laughed at me. The hurt from when he had knocked me down was coming back, and he could see it. I explained that Charlie laughed at my pain, and he told me that he was laughing because I was 'so darn cute'. I was skeptical, but then Rosalie came in.

I was so glad that she had come to see me. By the sound of it, she had been coming to see me for a while every day. She brought Edward a sandwich. I was so excited, I said "Hey Rose." She was stupefied for a moment, but recovered and moved to greet me and welcome me back into the world. But then the unthinkable happened.

Edward removed his hands from my hand. It's not that his hands were very warm, actually they were quite cold. But his hands were making _me_ warm. When he took that warmth away, I was left with quite an irrational fear of… of anything. He deliberated, but decided to stay after all. So _then_ Rosalie and I could chat.

She started by asking me how I was feeling, I raised one eyebrow; the side that didn't have the black eye didn't hurt too badly. She quickly realized her mistake.

"Why" I took a breath to replenish my air supply, "am I" refill, "here?" I asked her.

"Here? I thought you would remember! Charlie –", I flinched and she stopped, Edward looked up from his chair.

He said to Rosalie, "Don't, she knows that. She wants to know if we've turned Charlie in." He knew me well even though I hardly knew him at all.

"Oh," Rosalie said, "well not exactly. The only way that Carlisle and Edward could get into your house to get you was to tell Charlie that they wouldn't turn him in. Edward and I are all for turning him in anyway, but there's nobody to turn him in to." Edward made significant eye gestures at Rosalie, I didn't miss it, but I had a more pressing question on my mind.

"I know." I said. "So," breath, "how long," breath, "have I," breath, "been out."

"Er,"

"Um…" Edward said.

_How long?_ Couldn't they just say it out loud for me?

"Four days."

I gasped, Edward looked up again. I calmed myself quickly. I didn't want to unnerve him. "Shh, it's fine." Rosalie said. "You didn't miss anything."

"Well, not exactly everything." Edward hinted.

Rosalie slapped his knee, and Edward chuckled.

"What?"

"Well, my older brother came home since it's almost Christmas. And he saw Rosalie, and uh…she saw him…yeah." Edward stuttered, trying to avoid making Rose mad probably.

I was frustrated that there was no further explanation. Were they talking so mysteriously just to annoy me? "Are you _trying_" breath, "to annoy me!"

Edward was obviously confused, but Rosalie knew what I meant. "What your boyf – uh…Edward is trying to say is that his brother and I hit it off well."

Edward snorted, "Well _that's _the understatement of the century."

"What?"

"Well, they were like, in the back of a steamy car at least twice in the last four days." Rosalie's hand lashed out and smacked Edward on the cheek.

I winced, nobody noticed, so I said, "Don't."

"Don't what, love?" Edward was suddenly contrite.

"Don't hit," I took a breath to say 'Edward' but Rosalie and Edward were apologizing before I got a chance. And then Alice walked in.

"Hey Rose, your beau is here to pick you up. I think you're going somewhere."

"What happened to," I breathed in, "'I don't date?'", I asked Rosalie, it was getting less painful to breathe.

Rosalie giggled, squeezed my hand a bit, I winced, and then she was away. Alice came forward to talk to Edward. I heard him say softly to her, "Did you find him?" Alice nodded. Edward asked a question that I didn't understand with his eyes, "Yeah," Alice answered, "He said that he had to and it is required by law."

"But do they have to –" he broke off, looking at me apprehensively.

Alice shook her head, "As long as they have no witnesses, and she wont own up to it, they don't have to."

"But _I'm_ a –" he stopped talking again, with another anxious look in my direction. At this point I was so confused.

But I had better things to worry about. I was _so_ tired! I had to find a comfortable position, because this one wasn't working out. I shifted a little bit, and they noticed. Alice came over and said to me, "Do you want me to move the bed?" I considered, but decided that it would probably hurt my ribs too much. I shook my head, and winced. Everything hurt! It was awful. I shifted again, so that my weight was concentrated on a different part of my back. It was as good as I would get without actually hurting myself. I sighed and accepted that. This torture would only be for a few months.

I closed my eyes, wondering what Alice and Edward had been talking about. I tried to decipher their odd conversation. Obviously they had been talking about it before I had awoken. Alice and Edward were muttering to each other again, and soon I was asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Hi! Thanks to all of these people who reviewed!

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This is another painfully short chapter, so I've posted chapter eighteen as well. I know I said that I'd get this in early, but I was denied computer use until late, so I actually posted this after midnight. Oh well.

And some of you were confused, in the last chapter, Alice and Edward are talking about Charlie. They want to know if Carlisle reported him and if he'd been reported. Alice went to talk to Carlisle, that's how she got her information!

These are the quotes from last chapter:

_How long?_ Couldn't they just say it out loud for me? (pg. 382 of Breaking Dawn)

and

I was frustrated that there was no further explanation. Were they talking so mysteriously just to annoy me? (pg. 381 of Breaking Dawn)

Anyway, have wonderful holiday, especially Christmas and Hannukkah (because they're today), but all of the other too! And have a healthy and safe new year! I'm going away, and won't be able to access Fanfic for a while, as some of you already know, but expect another post around the first week of January! Thanks a million!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, if I were, I would celebrate Christmas. Merry Christmas Stephenie!**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**EPOV**

And so life went on. Bella stayed in the hospital for a month, slowly recovering. Then she was let out of the hospital, but the doctor prescribed physical therapy for her right hand. She could move the wrist, and I helped her exercise her fingers every day while she went to the hospital every week for a check up and therapy. She was progressing nicely, but she still couldn't move her ring finger at all. But all of her fingers had started like that, so I wasn't worried.

She was, though. Bella said that she couldn't feel her ring finger at all, like it was missing. She said it was very disconcerting, but when I had a doctor look at it, he said that it was no different from any of her other fingers. She relaxed a bit then, and I reasoned with her that it would eventually get better. She did have a nasty looking scar forming though, on her palm. It was a crescent shape, the shape of a boot heel. Every time I saw her I was reminded of the day when I saw her fall down the stairs. She had already been beaten up quite badly, and I wanted to know why. I didn't ask, though, I didn't want to scare her again.

Since the incident, Charlie had been surprisingly gentle with her. She told me at one of the therapy sessions (I would meet her at the hospital, Charlie didn't know that I went with her to therapy) that he had threatened her that as soon as she was no longer being checked at the hospital, the beatings would resume. I was scared for her. I took to watching her every night through the blinds which she had opened just a tad again. I was so happy to have her back, but wasn't sure if she felt the same way as I did. I took the open blinds to mean yes.

Three months after the incident, I was with Bella at the hospital for her check up. She never let me in the room with her for that, so I was waiting just outside the door. When she came out, she was crying.

"What's wrong?" I said quietly.

"This ends next week," she said, "Charlie will have his way with me again."

"No he won't." I said firmly, "We'll think of something. When do you turn eighteen again?"

"September thirteenth, that's in five months and eight days. I'm counting."

"Then we'll–" I was about to say 'we'll leave here.' I couldn't afford a slip like that. Bella only trusted me because I did not touch any part of her body other than her hands. If I even implied that we were 'together' in any way, who knows how she would respond. I didn't want to admit to her that I already thought of her as my girl.

"We'll what?" she whispered.

"We'll find a way to get you out of Charlie's house."

"Oh, no need." She said, "I already have an apartment in New York, I've been paying rent on it for the last month. As soon as I am legally an adult, I'm getting out of here. And there's a boy who I've known forever, his name is Jacob and he lives on the reservation, who owns a garage. I've asked him to please fix up a motorcycle that I found on a curb and I'd pay for the materials. I'll ride that down to New York, because I don't have enough money to pay for plane tickets."

I was surprised at how well she had her escape planned out already. I informed her of this and she told me that I had been the inspiration. "You told me to get out, and Rosalie told me to get out, so I started thinking about it, but where would I go…nowhere. I found an apartment with cheap rent, though, and so I seized the opportunity. And another day, when I was walking home from work, I saw the motorcycle on the curb and thought 'well this would be a great idea'."

I smiled at her and we headed down the hall and up three floors for therapy.


	18. Chapter 18

Hello again, I already explained that I posted this chapter because the last one was short. There is a sort of sexual assault in this chapter, I had to leave it in to make a point. Sorry if you don't want to read it. I have the portion marked. But this story is M for a reason, I guess… Thanks a bunch!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**BPOV**

I told Edward everything nowadays; I had no secrets from him. After four months of him protecting me again, even my unruly body could see that he meant me no harm. I sort of wanted to start things up with him again, but he didn't even mention it at all. I was afraid that I had scared him off forever.

**Begins here**

Before going to my check-up and physical therapy session with Edward that day, Charlie had grabbed my arm, lightly of course, and threatened me. He said, "Hey sweetheart, I hope you enjoy this last week of peace, because the moment that the check ups stop. I start again. I've been pining for a woman for four months now. And I'm not happy about it, either. Maybe we'll have an extra special session!" He smiled wickedly and let me go.

But that wasn't the last of it. He actually climbed over the emergency break and the throttle and started to knee me. He pressed harder and harder into my crotch with his knee. He was pressing harder and harder and harder and harder and harder, and then I whimpered. It hurt. A lot. He was crushing right up against my pelvis and pushing my womanhood up toward my waist. It was painful.

I leaned as far back into the seat as I could, trying to get the most sensitive part of my body back into some reasonable semblance of a normal position. And then Charlie bent over me, and started pushing me down. His knee was pressing harder and harder and it war forcing my clit farther and farther up as he forced me to lean forward. It wasn't long before I started to cry. As soon as that single tear made its way down my cheek he pushed harder. Another tear followed the first, he pushed harder.

I clenched my hands into fists to try to distract myself from the awful pain. And then my head was as far down as his crotch. He pushed my face forward so that I was nuzzling his bulging pants. He shook my head back and forth, groaning as I hit his member. I knew that he would relax his knee as soon as I gave him what he wanted. So crying and whimpering from the awful force of his knee against me I started to head butt and nuzzle at his penis through his pants.

When he finally sighed in relief I saw a small spurt of liquid ballooning on the front of his pants. I grimaced.

**Ends here**

When I met Edward outside after my check up, I told him everything. Then I told him about my plans to get out on the day of my 18th birthday. I told him all about my new apartment and motorcycle. I don't know why I did. I think that a small part of me realized that I would want him to be able to find me again later, because I would not be able to return to anywhere near Forks, Washington until the day that Charlie dies.

I leaned into him as we walked to physical therapy, and he held my scarred hand. He rubbed small circles on my scar with his thumb. I pretended that we were boyfriend and girlfriend as we walked down the hall toward the elevator. I wondered if that would ever happen. As the elevator's doors closed gently I made up my mind. This was probably the second to last time that I would ever see him privately again. I decided to try something.

"Hey Edward," I said in the privacy of the empty elevator.

He responded with a "Hmmm?"

I said, "Do you remember our sort-of date?"

"I remember it well," he said with a nod, "what about it."

"I never…never mind." I chickened out.

"I what?" he asked me, mimicking my tone from earlier.

"I was, well, you never kissed me…and I was sort of wondering about that. I mean, I'm not saying that I like you or you like me or anything, I was just wondering if you have dating rules." I wasn't actually wondering if he had dating rules, but I wanted to cover for my stupid mistake in asking about a kiss.

But Edward didn't even answer my question, he had a tortured look in his eyes when he turned to me and asked, "But do you like me Bella? Because I like you. You don't have to like me at all, though. I wouldn't feel bad."

I didn't say anything at first, I was so shocked. So I didn't say 'yes' like I should have, I said, "But, didn't I frighten you that day, when I ran off. Didn't I hurt your feelings? Didn't I make you mad?"

"No." he told me, "I wasn't hurt at all. I wasn't mad at _you_. Can't you see that Bella?" He was suddenly intense, all trace of teasing gone. "Don't you understand? I'm never angry with you – how could I be? Brave, trusting…warm as you are. I can't believe that I hurt you like that. What did I do, anyway?"

I decided not to tell him, but show him, "Pick me up the exact same way." I said. And he did, knocking my knees out from under me and lifting me into his arms bridal-style. I fought back the urge to kick him and run out of the elevator screaming. I said, "See how you did that? With my knees, Charlie does that to me all the time, but _he _doesn't catch me. He usually follows that up by quite a few kicks in the ribs. You scared me when you did that."

"Oh!" he looked sad, "I'm so sorry, I owe you an apology. No, of course I owe you much, much more than that."

I stopped him, "What? What do _you_ owe _me_?"

He was still carrying me and I could see his face down the minutest detail. I watched chagrin, then resolve pass across his face. But I wasn't _really_ watching that. I was watching his eyes; his beautiful green eyes. I melted inside.

"I owe you a great first date."

I smiled, "No, no, I'm the one who owes you the date. I was the one who ruined it, so I should pay you back…but Charlie won't let me leave the house again. Ever."

"So we'll have the date at your house!"

"And you think that Charlie will let us have a date at all?"

"Um, no, so I'll slip out and come in through your window like I did that first day…at night."

I nodded silently, thinking it over. If he came at night…after Charlie was asleep…and we just didn't do anything too loudly…this might just work!

And then we were at the therapy room. I know in some towns they have entire offices dedicated to physical therapy, but in the tiny town of Forks, almost everything medical took place in Seattle or Port Angeles or at the hospital.

I walked in with Edward and we started doing some exercises. We would start with my arm and then move slowly down toward my wrist, which I now had no problem rotating, and then to my palm which I would try to make a little bowl or a corner with. At the last session I had almost been successful, moving my fingers down a little bit. Edward and the therapist, Jenny, had clapped for me, and I had rolled my eyes.

I tried again this week, hoping against hope that I would be able to go down all the way. I tried, and got further, but really didn't get very far at all. Edward and the therapist still looked strangely pleased at my progress. I considered it nothing. We worked at that for about half an hour, I moved my hand a tiny bit more, and the therapist decided that that was enough progress for one day and that I shouldn't be pushed too far.

Then we moved on to my fingers. This was the hardest part. The nerves in most of my fingers had been crushed or damaged in some way. I had not been able to move any of the fingers in my right hand for a month after the incident, but now, since the nerves were knitting themselves back together, I was starting to regain movement, and in my opinion it was great. I could at least bend most of my fingers, and with Edward's help at lunch time I was regaining almost my full range of movement.

The one thing that he could not help me with was my ring finger. It would move fine, it was not broken, but I could not move it using my own muscles. I would have Edward move it or use my own hand to move it. The one time that Edward had mentioned it, I blew up in his face. I never really yelled at people, it was unladylike and a product of too many years with Charlie, but I was really touchy about my malfunctioning finger.

He claimed that he wasn't worried, but I was. I was very worried. I could not feel my ring finger at all, and I constantly worried that it was sticking out or something odd like that. I became almost obsessive in checking it, but Edward would try to help me with it at lunch as well, and I tried to move it every night before I went to bed and every morning when I woke up. There had been no progress for four months. It was as if my finger had been amputated.

The therapist always had me work with that finger for longer than any other part of my body. Nobody was worried but me, I knew that something was wrong, and after all, it _was_ my body.

When I got back to the car after my appointment, leaving Edward just inside the revolving glass doors to wait until Charlie had left to go to his car, Charlie gave me a full kiss on the lips, tongue and everything. Then he said, "Just one more week sweetheart."

I was terrified, but didn't let it show. Not at all, but it wasn't so hard. I was so excited about my upcoming unnamed untimed undefined date with Edward.


	19. Chapter 19

Hello everyone! I hope that your Holidays were good!? I'm sorry that this update took so long, but now I'm back to a regular schedule, I promise! Thanks to all of the reviewers who took time out of their holidays to read my story! I'm touched!

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So, I didn't mention that there were any quotes in the last two chapters, but I was surprised by **pluto-nfl** who found one anyway! I went back to the original and found that I had marked down two quotes in Chapter Eighteen! If you can find them: sneak preview as always! And, of course, there is a quote in this chapter from Breaking Dawn. Happy reading everyone!

And by the way: **I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**EPOV**

The next day at lunch, we had the details of our little date all hammered out. I would start watching Bella's window at eight, if the blinds were closed, that meat 'do not come in', but when the blinds opened, it meant that Charlie was asleep and I could come over. I was so excited. I figured that we would just talk.

Bella was literally jumping out of her seat at lunch, as well. She stayed up late last night to type her English report and she actually typed it using her left _and_ right hands. She said that she had to move her entire arm a lot, but at least she used her fingers! Well…not her right ring finger. She was quite frustrated with it, and before when she was frustrated with her fingers they would move when she really tried to move them. She said that when she tried to get her finger all the way down the night before it still didn't move. She was really worried about it, I think, because she got all defensive (which she doesn't do very often) when you talked to her about it, and was constantly moving it around with her other hand or checking on it. She got very angry when one told her that it would move eventually.

I hoped that it was not a mental roadblock, I tried to persuade her to think positively, but it is in her nature to be a pessimist.

At the end of the day I waited for her by Rosalie's car, and I think I almost kissed her when she came out of the school laughing with Rose. I hadn't seen her laugh very often; this must have been the only time since she had come to my house.

I think that very moment was when I realized that I was really in love with her. I was really _really_ in love with her. It wasn't just a crush on the beautiful girl next door. I smiled at her and she came running up to meet me.

"So guess what?" she had said to me.

I said, "What?" just responding to the smile on her face with my own.

She said, "Okay, so you know how Alice can get a little mad sometimes?" Of course I did, she was my twin…and she could get a _lot_ mad sometimes.

But I just said, "Yeah."

Bella and her smile said, "So there's this boy, Tyler Crowley, who is in absolute love with her." Hmmm…I remember thinking that I would have to have a word with this boy. "And he went to find her after gym. He waited outside of the girls' locker room, actually, and since Alice wasn't the first one out, she was able to get out of the locker room through the gym entrance. Then we snuck up behind him and walked by as if we had been there, and Alice was saying stuff like, 'Phew, biology was hard that last class', and 'Who's _that_ creep standing outside of the girls locker room like he wants a good peek!' Oh man, you should have been there…well, not for the inside-the-girls-locker-room part!" She was still smiling, I just laughed at her pleasure in teasing this creep. I would have to talk to Alice about him later, though…I would have a real heart to fist with this boy if he didn't back off.

But at the moment I was completely absorbed with Bella, Rosalie skillfully excused herself and went to 'find Alice' to give us a moment alone. "She just did that on purpose, didn't she?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, that's okay…I don't mind being alone with you." She laughed again; I committed the lovely pealing of bells sound to memory.

"That's good, seeing as we have an official date today!"

"Not today, Edward," I remember being confused and a little crushed, "tonight. Do not under any circumstances come early."

I knew the reason for this and didn't find it reasonable, but I wasn't ready to argue with my angel. But I'm sure that if I wanted to think about it I could have, but I didn't want to. Charlie was ruining her life, and her spirit. And when Bella went down I was dragged along with her. We were connected. I had already known that much, and now I knew that it went much deeper than just a simple string. It was a million steel cables tying me to her. I loved her.

Alice and Rosalie came back. I was still smiling at Bella and I stroked her cheek again and then followed her jawbone to the other side of her face. This time there was no bruise to make my excuse. Thank goodness that she didn't seem to mind. I wanted to touch more of her; really, I just wanted her to by mine. But I did not wish to claim her the way that her father had. I wish that we could really date, and that Bella wasn't contained by her father. I wished that Charlie was a nice man, not a drunk and an asshole. If I had three wishes, I would wish that Charlie was nice, and that Bella's hand would be back to normal again, and that we could be together forever. Of course, that's including the rules that I can't wish for love, or more wishes. But then, I already had love. I knew that I loved Bella. But of course I loved Bella, and she may not love me. Although, she had initiated this date…she was very brave to defy Charlie like this.

Her skin was so soft and silky. Bella leaned into my hand. I increased the pressure a little bit and then. I left and quickly went to my car before I had to kiss her. When I chanced a look back at her, before Alice came over to the Volvo, her eyes were sort of unfocused and her hand was touching her cheek, exactly where I had. I wondered if she was having some sort of episode, but Alice and Rosalie were still talking to her and she was slowly nodding at something that they had said. I smiled; I had that effect on her!


	20. Chapter 20

Hello everybody! As I said before, another double update today! I'm sorry that my chapters are so short! I promise, they get longer! This is just the stuff I've had written for a long time! Another short announcement: If you haven't already, please look at my other story, Ms. Swan. One last thing: FanFic, I've found, sometimes deletes the ends of my sentences, so if you find something that doesn't really make sense, just tell me and I'll clarify! Thanks!

Two quotes in this chapter! One is from Midnight Sun (which you can find on Stephenie Meyer's website) and the other is from Twilight!

**I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Twenty**

**BPOV**

Edward had slowly raised his hand up to my cheek, like he had that first day after our disaster date, and cupped my cheek in his hand. There was no bruise there this time; I think he just wanted to touch my face again. I was secretly pleased…or maybe not so secretly. I touched my cheek in the exact same way, hoping to remember exactly what it felt like. His hands were smooth as satin, and also quite cold. I remembered that his hand fit my cheek perfectly. I smiled stupidly as I remembered his hand. I kept playing it over and over again in my head.

Then Alice interrupted my daydreaming. She and Rosalie had finally figured out that they were both working toward the same goal, so they had banded together. Alice said, "Bella! Do you like Edward? 'Cause I think he likes you."

I nodded slowly, and Alice crowed for joy. "Do you think that you could be persuaded to go on a date with him?" said Rosalie.

I nodded, trying to hold back a smile.

"What's that face?" asked Rosalie.

I burst their bubble then, I only felt sort of bad, "But Alice, we already know that. He's been taking me to physical therapy for the last three months, we talk then. And we both decided to go on a date, sort of."

"What?! How come he didn't tell me this?"

"Because it's a secret. Charlie, my father, can't know."

Rosalie nodded, but Alice looked confused, "Why not?"

"He doesn't let me date." I wasn't lying.

"Don't worry," she winked, "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks Alice," I was grateful.

Then Alice left when Edward honked the horn, and both Rosalie and I climbed into her car. I smiled at her when she said, "So your physical therapy's been good?"

"Yeah," I said, "I've been making real progress. You heard me tell Edward at lunch today, I typed my report last night. I was really pleased." But nothing could compare to the swooping sensation in my stomach when I thought about Edward's hand on my face, or our upcoming sort-of date.

"I was trying to ask you subtly how your conversations with Edward have been."

Oh. I was very slow on the uptake. I'd never been a master at detecting subtlety. Maybe it was because I was such a bad liar. "They've been alright." I said quietly.

"Care to spill?"

"Um, he's very kind. Too optimistic, I think. But maybe that's just me."

"You're terribly pessimistic."

"Yeah, well, I've got a reason, haven't I?"

"Yes." We were quiet for a little while. "I still don't understand why you don't leave his house, Bella. My father and I would be more than happy to house you. And you know that we aren't in need of any funds at all. We could even pay your way through college if you want."

I smiled ruefully. "Thanks Rosalie. I'll think about it."

"That's the same thing you've said for the last five years."

"Yeah. Well. I _have_ been considering." I just had ruled out the possibility of living with Rosalie every time.

"Anyway, back to the subject at hand: How's Edward."

"He's great. His hand is really soft."

"Um."

"Yes that is what I think about at night while trying to fall asleep."

She laughed. I didn't mention that until recently when Charlie was raping me I had thought of an empty white room and thought about decorating it. Recently I'd been thinking of Edward. I'd imagine his face and pretend that he was in the room with me and beating Charlie until he bled almost to death. I would imagine my vindictive pleasure as he was forced to bind his own wounds and brought to the hospital. I would imagine the way I would live with Edward's family once Charlie was recovering. I would imagine how I would come back to Charlie's house when we returned and he would never touch me again. And then Charlie would leave and I would cry even though I hadn't cried in years. I was way past crying because I was being used. I would cry because Edward wasn't there with me. Saving me.

After Rosalie dropped me off at home, I started to cook dinner. I made steak and potatoes with brownies for dessert. When Charlie came home a few hours later, he squeezed my butt and patted me on my right breast before heading toward the table for dinner. He guzzled down the beer that I had provided on the table and scarfed down the steak and potatoes. He seemed to be in a good mood, which was a good sign for when the alcohol kicked in. I was hoping that he would remember not to hurt me when he was drunk and just pass out quickly.

It was my lucky day. If I had three wishes, I would have wished that Charlie would go to jail forever, that my hand would be back to normal, and that Edward and I would be together forever. I knew that none of those was likely to come true.

Charlie _did_ fall asleep quite quickly after dinner; it wasn't even seven forty-five when he did. That gave me just enough time to carry him up to his bed before eight.

I did just that, I had become quite strong, and his weight was a load, but it was almost nothing. The beer would most likely keep him out for a while. It was eight then, and I ran to my window to open my blinds. I had a really big smile on my face when I saw that Edward was there, already waiting.

I laughed aloud when he jumped out of his window with such force that he landed on the ground and had to dust himself off before climbing through my window. I opened my window so wide that he could actually _step_ through. It creaked; I was worried that Charlie would wake up. He didn't, of course, but I would need to get some grease for the next time…if there was a next time, that is. When he got through, I was so happy to see him that I gave him a huge hug.

I held him so tightly to my body that I was afraid that I was crushing his lungs, but I just held him tight, and he didn't complain. In fact, I think he held me back. I don't know how long we stood there, but at that very moment, I knew that I loved him and that I couldn't possible be without him. Then Edward leaned down and kissed me. Not on the lips, of course, but a very sweet kiss on the cheek.

I was so shocked that I dropped my arms from around his tall, lean body.

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean…"

"That's okay. I don't mind."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know that you wouldn't mind, otherwise I would have done that sooner!"

I laughed. I wished he had done that sooner. "I wish you had."

"Really?"

"Yeah." We both laughed.

He smiled, "Now what?"

"Well, let's talk. You ask, and I'll answer."

"Um, where's Charlie?"

"Oh, well, I gave him two or three beers at dinner, he _should_ be out for a while, but you never know with Charlie."

"Alright, so…what is your favorite thing to do?" He seemed hesitant.

"I, um, I like to read when I get the chance I guess." I didn't say that at the moment, my favorite thing to do was to be with him in any context. Reading was my favorite thing to do before _the incident_, now it held only second place.

"What is your favorite color?"

"Green." I blushed.

"Hmm, what's that blush?"

"Uh, nothing." My face reddened because, until very recently, my favorite color was brown. It was impossible, while staring back into his beautiful bright green eyes, not to remember the reason for the switch.

"Tell me," he commanded after persuasion failed.

"It's the color of your eyes," I sighed, surrendering, staring down at my hands as I fiddled with a piece of my hair. His pause was very short. I was grateful when he moved on.

"Did you tell anyone what we're up to?"

"That depends…I assume you told Alice. I told the girls that we had a date in the near future, but didn't say when and told them that it was a secret and not to tell."

"Oh."

"What?"

"Well that explains why Alice has been following me around all day trying to get an answer about when I'm going on a date with you. I told her that we weren't. I thought that you hadn't told her."

"Oh, sorry."

"That's fine. It's not a problem, Alice is overenthusiastic anyway." He said.


	21. Chapter 21

Okay, I know that I said that this chapter would be longer…sorry, I lied! I swear to you that it was not intentional! I'll post another chapter again…sorry. Thanks to all of you who reviewed:

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**lovedwardalways**

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And a special thanks to those who found the quotes which were:

From Chapter Eighteen: "I wasn't mad at _you_. Can't you see that Bella?" He was suddenly intense, all trace of teasing gone. "Don't you understand? I'm never angry with you – how could I be? Brave, trusting…warm as you are." (Twilight)

"I'm so sorry, I owe you an apology. No, of course I owe you much, much more than that." (New Moon)

From Chapter Nineteen: "It was a million steel cables tying me to her." (Not a perfect quote from Breaking Dawn)

From Chapter Twenty: "I would need to get some grease for the next time…if there was a next time, that is." (Not a perfect quote from Midnight Sun)

"Uh, nothing. My face reddened because, until very recently, my favorite color was brown. It was impossible, while staring back into his beautiful bright green eyes, not to remember the reason for the switch. Tell me, he commanded after persuasion failed. It's the color of your eyes," I sighed, surrendering, staring down at my hands as I fiddled with a piece of my hair. His pause was very short." (Twilight)

and

"Did you tell anyone what we're up to? That depends…I assume you told Alice." (Twilight)

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**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

And now: Enjoy chapter Twenty-one!

**Chapter Twenty-one**

**EPOV**

We sat in her room for forty minutes, just talking, until she remembered that she hadn't cleaned up from dinner. I offered to help her, and we made the short excursion through the kitchen to the dining room. She told me where to put things and we made short work of the mess. Then Bella went to check on her father, and put his room in order. She made me go to her room, just in case he woke up, and proceeded up the stairs. She came back down a few minutes later and we continued talking until late that night. Before I left, I helped her again with her hand exercises. It was around ten when I got back to my room, and when I did, Alice was there waiting for me.

"So, Edward. Where in the world _have_ you been? I've been looking all over for you; I even called the school to see if you were still there. Then, I looked out your window and guess what. You were in Bella's room. What the hell were you doing in there?" Little Alice was mad, that reminded me that I had to talk to her about this Crowley kid.

"So, Alice. I hear that you and the girls had a great time today bothering one particular boy. Do you want me to find him after school tomorrow?"

"You're avoiding the question. What have you been doing at Bella's house until eleven at night?"

"I was on a date, Alice. Alright? We talked, did the dishes, and exercised her hand. Not a big deal. Did I ever interrogate you about your dates with Jasper?"

I knew that she missed him, and that they were trying their hardest to do the long-distance thing. And thus that was sort of hitting below the belt so to speak. I saw her eyes get sad. "Fine, Edward. Whatever. And yes, please _do_ talk to that Crowley kid. I hate him. _Jasper's_ the only one for me." She said, sighing.

It was only then that I realized that I had never gotten the chance to look out her window and into mine, something I had thought about since that first time I'd had her to my house…the only time that had ever happened.

I went to bed to happy dreams about Bella in my arms and beating up Tyler Crowley…but definitely not at the same time.

The next day, I went to school with Alice in the car. Of course, Tyler went to school too. Being obsessed with Alice and all, he came to school when she did and left when she did. I had Alice stay in the car and cornered Tyler Crowley by the door. I approached him with a nice big smile on my face that showed all of my teeth.

"So, are you Tyler?"

"Yeah."

"I get the feeling that you have a little crush on my twin, Alice."

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Well, that's great. It's good to feel liked, but don't bother her ever again. Don't talk to her, don't go near her, and don't leave notes for her because I will be watching. She already has a boyfriend and the last thing that she needs is a fool like you following her around like a lovesick puppy. Stay away from my sister."

"She has a boyfriend? I've never seen her with any boy besides you."

"Who said that you had to _see_ anything? He lives in Texas."

"You're lying."

"I'm not, actually, but I don't care if you don't believe me. Just stay away from Alice, got it?"

He nodded with a scowl on his face. And I smiled when I walked away to see Bella climbing out of Rosalie's car and Alice joining them. I went to see my girlfriend, my sister and their friend. "I took care of Tyler." I said when I was near enough that they would hear me.

Alice turned around from their conversation and said thank you and gave me a hug. Bella watched me hug my twin back and give her a kiss on the top of her tiny head and smiled. I smiled back over Alice's hug. Then Rosalie pulled Alice and Bella back to their little circle with one word. "And…"

Alice thanked me again and said, "Sorry Edward, girl stuff. You should go sit over there or something until we come find you. Bye!"

Bella shrugged her shoulders apologetically and rolled her eyes and Rosalie waved her hand that I should leave in good humor. I stuck my hands in my pockets and left to let them do their girlish thing. I played and replayed my night with Bella as I went to sit at one of the benches near the entrance to school. We had agreed to meet again tonight; we hadn't gotten very far at all in our discussion. There was more to Bella's life than I ever thought, and I wanted to know it all. And she had said that it wasn't fair that I got to ask all the questions.


	22. Chapter 22

Another short chapter to go with the last one! But, of course, I can't post the next three chapters alone (or even together) because they're as short as you will see. And thus, by the end of the day, I will have posted five chapters. I hope you don't mind! And this time I'm not lying when I say that after these five the chapters do get longer! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Twenty-two**

**BPOV**

When I got to school with Rosalie the day after my real first date she was gushing on and on about how Edward and I would be perfect together, I didn't tell her that we already were together.

I just listened with a smile. Then, she parked at school and Alice came bounding over to us in her usual ballerina way. She was so graceful; I couldn't believe that there was any other career in life for her other than to be in some famous ballet. Every time I say that, though, she says that she wants to be a psychic and commune with the dead or tell the future. I thought that she was kidding, but I've never really been sure.

Alice found us and darted over in her graceful way, turning quite a few heads, I'm sure.

She was so excited; I didn't know what was going on. She said, "So, Bella, how'd it go last night? Edward was missing for three hours; I want to know what you did."

Rosalie's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "What!? Oh my God." She leaned against the car, I swear that she was about to faint.

"We went on a date, sort of. He came over to my house after my father was asleep and we talked and did housework et cetera."

Rosalie was still beyond words, "Oh my God, you went on a date with Edward Cullen. Oh. My. God. Yes! I knew it!"

Alice frowned, "That's what _he_ told me. I would accept that from a boy, but not from you Bella. Tell me _everything_."

Rosalie suddenly perked up. "Yes, tell us everything."

I laughed at my friends the gossip mongers. "Well, it was really quite simple. We just made plans to meet at eight at my house, so I gave Charlie tons of beer and he fell asleep and stayed there for hours. So we just talked. He asked me tons of questions, and I answered most of them. And then we washed the dinner dishes and such. Then we er, just talked I guess."

They looked disappointed, so I threw in a few of the questions that he had asked to mollify them. Then the first bell rang. We had been so absorbed that we hadn't noticed the yard slowly emptying. I grabbed my bag from Rosalie's car and we all ran to class.

I had biology with Edward first.

He had already sat down when I walked in, flushed from running. He smiled his crooked smile, and I smiled back while trying to disguise the fact that I was melting under his gaze. I loved him. Really and truly.

He patted the seat next to him, and I hurried to sit where he indicated, worried that if I stood too long while he was watching me, I would collapse. Unfortunately I, always the klutz, tripped and fell into his arms. He caught me and held me up for maybe a moment too long before guiding me into my seat. I grabbed his hand under the table and together, I was ready to face the world. Even biology class could not ruin my day.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Twenty-three**

**EPOV**

A week passed, the two of us had a 'date' every evening until the physical therapy stopped. Then Bella forbade me to come to her house at all unless the blinds were open, I know that she was worried that I would walk in on her and Charlie. I started waiting later and later by the window. Some nights she didn't open her blinds at all, and some nights she opened them early. Some nights she would have fresh bruises and cuts when she opened the windows. I took to leaving a first aid kit by my window so that I could get it quickly if she needed it.


	24. Chapter 24

**I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Twenty-four**

**BPOV**

Life went on as normal for a single week after that. Then Charlie resumed. At that point, I started to shut Edward out until later and later. It's a wonder that he didn't say anything; maybe he didn't want to think about what was happening.

I didn't let Edward come over one night. I was sobbing for the entire night and could hardly walk for three days after that.


	25. Chapter 25

I told you they were short! There is a quote in this chapter, and if I don't get at least fifteen guesses I won't post the rest of the story. I mean, for goodness' sake there're three sentences to choose from! Another hint: it's from New Moon! Enjoy…okay, that is a little ridiculous, I know.

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Twenty-five**

**B and EPOV**

The two of us stayed together for the rest of the year and for the rest of the summer. And then it was September 13th. All through the perfect summer – the happiest summer either of us had ever had, the happiest summer _anyone anywhere_ had ever had – this bleak date lurked in ambush, waiting to spring.


	26. Chapter 26

Hello again! I'm sorry about the chapter mix up first of all, I'm replacing chapter 24 with the actual chapter 24! And then the other thing is that I'm terribly sorry that I've updated late, but it was sort of necessary. I was at Science Olympiad yesterday, and then had a concert that night. Then today was pretty darn hectic as well. So you're all getting the update today instead of yesterday. But I promise an update on Sunday!

The quote from chapter 25 was: "All through the perfect summer – the happiest summer either of us had ever had, the happiest summer anyone anywhere had ever had – this bleak date lurked in ambush, waiting to spring." (New Moon chapter one!)

BTW: If you find the quote and review anonymously, I can't send you a sneak preview! Sorry! In any case, to all of you who found it, Thanks:

**Cam H**

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And to all of you who reviewed without guessing the quote, thanks!

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Enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter Twenty-six**

**BPOV**

My eighteenth birthday was the next day. Edward was coming over that night at nine to talk again. I was thinking about extending my stay at Charlie's to stay with Edward. He said that I should most definitely _not_ do that and we would try the long distance relationship thing. I knew that most often failed. But if he wanted me out of Charlie's house that badly…I knew that in the end I would do whatever Edward wanted me to do.

Rosalie and Alice were coming over to my house the next day, on my actual birthday, at my request. I asked Charlie if I could have a small party to keep up appearances, and he had agreed. It was the first time that I had done anything social (that he was aware of) since the 'Christmas Dance' so of course he had to agree.

I hadn't told anyone but Edward that I was leaving at all. I certainly hadn't mentioned it around Charlie. Tomorrow night I would sneak out to possibly say one last goodbye to Edward and then hightail it to New York City. I would leave most of my things at Charlie's house. I didn't want those reminders of my past, anyway.

After dinner, at which I had loaded Charlie up with beer for the second time, I went down to open my blinds and window all the way. Edward was there, of course. He had been from the very moment that he had moved in. I loved him for it.

He was there and he had a small jewelry box with him. I should have known that he would get me something. He came through my window.

"Here Bells, happy birthday!"

"Thanks Edward. You're the best, you know that right?" I gave him a kiss on the lips. We'd never gone farther than a chaste kiss on the lips. He knew that I couldn't, it reminded me of Charlie, and I knew that I couldn't. He didn't care that I couldn't go forward, and although I felt guilty, since he didn't mind I didn't mind.

"Yeah, well, second best. You're the real best." I rolled my eyes and took the present from him.

I opened it to find a beautiful bracelet. It was a silver charm bracelet. On it were three small charms. One was a lion, one was a lamb and the third was a crystal heart. I smiled and felt tears coming to my eyes. We had discussed lions and lambs a few nights ago. Edward had said, "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb." And I asked him what it meant. He told me: "The lion, a dangerous creature for anything to be around, like spending time with me is dangerous for you. And the lamb, a sweet gentle creature, never willing to hurt anyone or even stand up for itself, like you. It sort of represents our relationship…sort of."

I thought that when he said 'sort of' it meant that we didn't love each other. It was fine with me if he didn't love me, because I wasn't so keen on the idea of love. The only two people who had ever claimed to love me were Charlie and Renee. I hadn't heard from Renee in eleven years, and Charlie…well… Rosalie and Alice said that they loved me, and I loved them too, but that's a completely different kind of love.

I was so touched that he had remembered our conversation. I took the bracelet out of its box and had him put it on me because I couldn't move my right hand that minutely yet. "Wow," I said to Edward, "It's so beautiful, it's perfect. Thank you so much."

"Happy eighteenth!" he said, he was going on nineteen in a few months. I hadn't gotten him something this good for his eighteenth birthday. I had given him a few CDs that he said he'd wanted and a photo of us. He said it was the best present that he'd ever gotten. I knew otherwise, but I had smiled anyway.

"I love it Edward!"

"I'm glad, but we have some business to attend to."

"That's right!" I put the jewelry box down on my dresser and grabbed a small backpack from my closet. Edward was going to help me pack. He took some clothing out of my dresser and I told him what to put in the bag. I was packing three outfits for the ride to New York and he was helping me because my right hand still wasn't working all the way. That presented a small problem in the riding of the motorcycle, but I would manage. Edward had offered to drive me, but I had turned him down telling him that he couldn't be gone when I was. That would be very suspicious to Charlie, and then how would I get my motorcycle to New York?

I had never minded road trips.

I packed with my clothing the box for the bracelet that Edward had just given me and my cell phone. I also put in my high school yearbook where most people from school had signed but where Edward, Alice and Rosalie had each left page-long or more messages for me. Tucked into my yearbook went pictures of me and Edward, just Edward, Rosalie and Alice, Rosalie Alice and Edward, and all four of us. We had gone on a senior-class field trip one day to First Beach at La Push to look at the tide pools for biology. It had mostly turned into a fun day with everyone wandering around the beach and almost no one looking at the tide pools. The four of us had fun taking pictures of everyone, but mostly just us, with Rosalie's camera.

Also into my bag went a framed picture of my mother, and the teddy bear that I'd had since I was three. Tomorrow night I would stash my toiletries and such. I didn't have that many other personal possessions. Other than what I had already put in, I would have to find my volume of the Jane Austen collected works and my graduation certificate.

Edward and I sat in my room after that, talking. He said, "I'll really miss you. I wish I could come with you."

I responded, "Edward, you know that you can't, besides, I want you to go to college like your family is expecting!" Edward had been accepted to Dartmouth, so that was where he was going in a week. Rosalie was going to the University of Miami to join Emmett, and Alice was headed off to Berkley with Jasper. They were both already supposed to be gone, but had convinced their respective parents that they should stay for my 'party'. Rosalie figured that I would be leaving and she had filled Alice in on my departure. Only Edward knew where I was headed, though.

He sighed, "I know. Are you going to find a college to start next year?"

"I don't know." I said, "I'm concentrating more on finding a job in New York. You know where I'm headed, don't you?"

"I only know that you're going to New York."

"Here." I tore a page out of my printer and wrote down my new address for him. "I'll be here, and if you ever need to call me," I wrote down a ten digit number, "this is my new cell phone number. I've had the old one cancelled so that Charlie can't possibly find me."

"Smart."

I smiled briefly. Then we talked. We talked while he helped me exercise my hand like always. The familiar routine was comforting. I loved him all the more for sensing that this was what I needed now.

"You'll need to do this every night, do you hear me? If I call you and find out that you haven't been exercising your hand I will be very mad at you…so promise right now."

"I promise." I would have promised him anything.

Edward stayed all night; we both had heavy, dark circles under our eyes by morning. Only when I heard Charlie finally groaning awake and heading toward the shower, did he leave. I gave him one last hug and kiss before he went. It would be the last time, most likely, until Thanksgiving break when he promised to come find me for a week despite the fact that we weren't going to try the long distance relationship thing. I didn't want to tie him down. I was crying when I opened my window for him to climb out for the last time.

All was going well until he said three words. I didn't see it coming; if I had I would have shushed him so that I could live in my peaceful ignorant world for a little while longer. But my face was buried in his chest, because I was hugging him so tightly to my body.

He said, "I love you Bella."

I paused, the tears came faster now. I knew that I loved him, but I was the only one allowed to love between the two of us. If he loved me, what was there to keep him with me? If we loved each other, we could beat each other up or leave each other without notice. Love is just an excuse to do whatever you want to the person that you love.

"No, no you don't." I said, trying to make him understand. He seemed to get everything else about me, why not this?

"I do, Isabella Swan, I truly do."

I wailed, "No, Edward, you can't love me!"

"It's alright, just because you're leaving and I'm leaving, it doesn't mean that we can't love each other!"

I beat against his chest with my fists lightly. I could see that he wasn't going to back down, "I love you Edward, but you can't love me. Love is just an excuse…it's only an excuse. I love you too Edward. And now you have to go."

"I'll find you at Thanksgiving." He promised me, but I didn't want that. If he loved me, I didn't want him anywhere near me.

"No, Edward. You have to go forever. I can't see you anymore. I love you." I all but pushed him out the window.

I closed it as soon as I was sure that he was across the driveway. I shut the blinds, not wanting to see him again.

I collapsed on my bed, crying, chanting over and over to myself "I love you Edward, I love you."

I missed him already.

Alice and Rosalie came over at eleven in the morning. I didn't sleep at all that night. I fell asleep, finally, around seven in the morning. Charlie left before I woke, like he usually did.

They both came carrying gifts even though I had told them not to. I opened the gifts and found that Rosalie had given me a new copy of the Jane Austen collected works, unabridged. I smiled; she must have known that my book was lost. And Alice gave me a few new blouses and a pair of slacks, "for the job interviews." I loved my friends; they always seemed to know exactly what I needed. And at that moment, I needed to do something with my hands, so they suggested that we mix drinks and watch a movie.

Alice ran down to the movie store three blocks down and grabbed all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies. We then spent seven hours swooning over Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. I kept leaving to get another drink, pop some popcorn, or just have a little private cry in the kitchen. I was having a good time, of course, but I couldn't help but think of the one member of our party who was missing. And when Kiera Knightly and Orlando Bloom kissed, I had to go to the bathroom to calm down.

And then it was almost seven, the time when the menace comes home. I packed up the movies for my friends to return on their way out and let them look through my discards for anything that they wanted. They, between them, ended up taking almost everything. I was glad, that way I wouldn't have to throw out too much.

Then, while Rosalie was in the bathroom, Alice approached me. She said, "Bella, whatever you and my brother did last night is tearing him apart. He's usually in a good mood after he talked to you, but he hasn't said a word to any of us since nightfall last night. I don't think he slept either."

"Oh," I said, "We sort of…broke up, I guess."

"Really? You two were like peas in a pod… like, perfect for each other. The way that I was meant to be your friend, my twin was meant to be your husband. You were _made_ for each other."

Her words weren't helping me; they were only reminding me that I had hurt him by kicking him out of my life. I had hurt me too, but my own personal well being was no matter. That's how it had always been. "Sorry Alice." I said.

She didn't accept, "This isn't about me," she had told me, "This is about Edward. You're hurting him, and that's downright mean."

Again, I was reminded of a conversation that I'd once had with Edward,

Are you making fun of me?

Uh, yeah I guess.

That's mean!

You're right, I'm sorry.

I was just kidding! I didn't really mean it!

Sorry.

I was done talking about Edward, "I'll figure something out, Alice." I could feel my face from the inside out. My face felt empty and cold.

"I know you will. Just try your hardest, Bella. You're a good person."

So I wasn't a good person if I didn't, nice.

Rosalie reentered the room, "So, now that we're both here, I want to know your address."

"Um, I don't have one yet, sorry," I lied; I didn't want them to know where I lived just yet. "But I did get a new cell number. I don't want Charlie to track me by my phone…here." I wrote it down two different times, one for each friend. Rosalie had to go, her mother was expecting her home for one last dinner before college, I hugged my friend goodbye, and tears welled up in my eyes. "Thanks for everything Rosalie, I'll see you around. Call me often, okay?"

"Sure, sure." She said, also trying not to let her tears flow over.

She got into her car and drove away, and Alice started to leave as well. I stopped her, "Alice," I said, "Alice, I gave your brother a copy of the address of an apartment that I was looking into. Would you please tell him that this morning, the owner called to tell me that he got a better offer and that I would have to start looking elsewhere. Tell him not to worry, I still have a month's rent paid, but tell him not to try and find me." It was a lie; I still had my old apartment.

Alice looked into my eyes, "Really?"

"No, I just stopped paying rent on my apartment and found a new one. I don't want him to find me." Only the first part was a lie.

"Why ever not?"

"Because he…it's a long story, but he said that he loved me and I can't take any more of _that_."

"I love you! If I backed off, would you take Edward back?"

"No, it's a completely different _kind_ of love. _Friendship_ and _Relationship_. I don't know how to explain this to you Alice, but I can't take anymore love. Love is just an excuse to hurt people, Alice. If you are loved, you are hurt. It's inevitable. But if…if he asks…could you remind him that I love him?"

"Sure, if he asks." Alice's tone was kinder now. I smiled, sort of, at her before letting her out the door, a more conventional exit than Edwar– I didn't allow myself to think about him. Ever. And so began my Hell on Earth.


	27. Chapter 27

Hello again! I've gotten quite a few awesome reviews (I was even getting new ones up to an hour ago!) from these people:

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Thanks guys! And yet again, I'm posting two chapters! Sorry, but together they're about 2,000 words! If you want longer chapters, they're coming! I'd just written all of these before you all started reviewing, before I started posting on FanFic! I swear they get longer! Anyway, enjoy this new chapter and have a great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day (If you're in the US!)

**I am not Stephenie Meyer, and I don't own her stuff…but what I wouldn't give…**

**Chapter Twenty-seven**

**EPOV**

The minute that Bel– I couldn't think of her or I would break down again like I had that first week – left me, I began to review our last conversation in our head, over and over again. Constantly, I tried to figure out what went wrong. It seemed that she had been fine until I had told her that I loved her. I thought that she didn't believe me, but I was wrong. She didn't _want_ to believe me, and I was just enforcing what she didn't want to believe. I didn't realize…I was such a fool. I lost her for four and a half years. I dated one girl that entire time. Through college I dated _one girl_. And I only dated that girl because my friend threatened to beat me if I didn't have some fun in college. I spent all of my time studying. When I did anything else, even listening to lectures, I thought of Her. I think that meant that I really was in love with Her.

I became one of the best students in the grade and I graduated with a 4.0 average. I was even asked to make the speech. Unorthodox, I know, but I just did the classic, we've graduated, rah rah, thing with a little twist. It was not an interesting speech. It was almost boring, and I knew it. Even the dean, Dr. Dwyer, yawned once or twice. Whatever. I didn't care. My only reason for going to college was so that I could go to medical school and be a doctor. _Her_ constant wounds and the skill with which Carlisle and the other doctors had saved her were burned into my memory.

I also wanted to make Carlisle proud. I think I did, I didn't really pay enough attention to him in order to tell. Besides, becoming a doctor would keep me in school for another seven years or so. I needed the distraction. Alice would constantly call me and try to convince me to find her. I never followed through. If she didn't want me anymore, I wasn't going to force my presence on her.


	28. Chapter 28

Hello again, hope you enjoyed the last chapter, here's another for your literary enjoyment!

**I am not Stephenie Meyer!**

**Chapter Twenty-eight**

**BPOV**

So I became a teacher. I signed up for this program in the CUNY system that pays your tuition through college if you agree to teach in the NY public school system for a certain number of years. I only have one mouth to feed, mine, and I just get by the rent at my apartment. I really don't need anything else, I buy sneakers a lot. I walk almost everywhere. It's one of the perks of living in the city, I don't need a car nor do I need gas. I really lucked out. If I really have somewhere to go that I can't walk to, I just take my motorcycle.

I still had it after four and a half years. Since then I had gotten a motorcycle license, I still feel somewhat guilty for riding across the country on a motorcycle without a license. Despite the fact that it was sort of necessary. But since then I have gotten my license.

Late on the night of my eighteenth birthday, I had lifted my motorcycle out of my truck's back. I kissed the truck goodbye, and took my keys as a reminder of my faithful beast. I think that I also took the keys to spite Charlie. Now he wouldn't be able to drive it either. Anyway, I took that and my backpack that now included my new and old Jane Austen volumes, my new clothes from Alice, and my High School graduation certificate. I had also bought a helmet earlier that day and put that on.

I wore four layers that night. Undershirt, t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt and Forks High sweatshirt. It was an easy way to carry clothes, and I knew that I would need the extra warmth while riding my motorcycle in September at night. I wheeled it down the block, giving one last goodbye to the street that I had grown up on, ignoring a particular white house that, at that moment, had housed two of my friends. Once I was sure that I was out of Charlie's hearing range, I kicked it to life and got going. By dawn, I was in Idaho.

It was a seven day journey, but when I finally got to New York, I immediately started shopping around for jobs. I ended up at a real estate office. I got a full-time job at the counter, selling tickets.

I began to get accustomed to living on my own. I had always done all of the shopping, cooking, cleaning, et cetera, but there was one huge tangible difference. I no longer lived in fear. I could do what I wanted, confident that nobody would beat me because I didn't get dinner on the table by exactly eight o' clock. And I was sure that nobody would find me and rape me because they couldn't find a woman who _wanted_ to have sex with them. I was sure that Charlie couldn't find me. I was sure that _nobody_ could find me. That made me sad, in a way. I loved Him. I really did, and I was missing him. It was like there was a large hole in my chest. I was grateful that I could make my escape, but sad that I had to leave so many things at home in the process…like Alice and Rosalie and…Him. Those were the sad parts…but the fact that all of my fingers had made a full recovery put me in constantly good spirits. But when I say 'all' I mean 'all but my ring finger'. I no longer think of it, but I am now sure that it will not longer work. Ever. So Charlie _has_ achieved his goal of a permanent mark on me. He will never leave me. Every time I look at my finger, I feel such hatred. It's not good for a person to feel that way. So I stopped thinking of it.

After about a month of having a steady job, two months after leaving Charlie's house, I started to look at colleges and financial aid programs. So I did get to go to college after all. Renee would have been so proud if she knew where I was. But I'm not sure that I would have told her even if I knew where she was.

So, after three years of college, I remembered that he would be graduating that year. And now in the summer, without school to distract me, I wanted to do something about my resident hole. E– Him. I wanted to find him so badly. I wanted to see him again. Maybe we could just be friends?

I decided to check Dartmouth's website. I discovered that their graduation was three days later than the end of my year. But I also learned something better. He was giving the speech. Wow, he must have been a good student, sort of like me. I wondered if, like me, he only studied so hard because he didn't want to think about me. I wouldn't blame him; I was pretty horrible to him. I wouldn't even blame him if he had dated other girls. I wouldn't even blame him if he was engaged, or married!

As I thought that, I knew that it wasn't anywhere near the truth. I could never be just friends with Him. I loved him. I knew that much.

I also knew that if he was involved with another woman, I would hate her with a passion. I already hated this unnamed woman. I mean, why wouldn't He date? He was a perfectly eligible bachelor, straight from Dartmouth, top of his class, very handsome and perfectly polite.

So, I almost didn't go see him. But I couldn't hold back. The only people who had shown up to celebrate their respective graduations were Alice and Rosalie. They were both finished with their final exams and had flown to New York to see me. I hadn't seen them in four years, only talked to them on the phone, so we had a lot of catching up to do. We went to dinner. Alice had brought Jasper, and Rosalie brought Emmett, of course. I finally got to meet both of them, and it turned out that Rosalie and Jasper's respective mothers had gone to school together or something, so they were really all one big happy family. I was the only one without a connection.

_His_ brother was perfectly polite, and a little crazy, but I liked him. And Jasper kept his distance from me, I wondered why, but I was fine with that. He seemed nice enough. Just being near him calmed me. I don't know why, but it did. I think that's why I was content enough to stay with my friends and their boyfriends – actually; Alice was engaged by then – for the entire night. I didn't even remember that I had planned to bike up to New Hampshire.

I ended up only getting started the next morning, after six hours of sleep. The others were going back home, Alice and her fiancée graduated from Berkley later that week, but Rosalie was going to become a school teacher, so she was staying an extra year to finish out her degree. Emmett had found a job as a contractor and an apartment, so he was staying in Florida with her. He looked pretty close to popping the question. The one question that I would never ever hear.

I rode for forty eight hours straight and ended up checking into my hotel room late that night and only grabbing seven hours of sleep before changing into nicer clothing and heading out to Dartmouth. I was sure that he wouldn't recognize me. Since the last time that we had spoke I had cut my long hair into a short bob and gone to college. I think that I had filled out a bit, hopefully looking a bit less emaciated from when I lived with Charlie. I was also wearing new clothing, of course so was everyone else, so I didn't know if that would matter.

I arrived at the graduation just before it began. I was sitting in the back so I was able to watch Him as he marched down the aisle as one of the first because of his last name, Cullen, and then take his place on stage for his speech. He looked sick, unhealthy. I found myself hoping that he wasn't ill. I didn't want to lose him again. And at that moment, as I thought about him dying, I decided that I wouldn't let him go ever again. Ever. I watched him throughout the entire ceremony. I wasn't happy with his unhealthy coloring, but he seemed well enough otherwise.

His speech was actually quite boring, but at the time I didn't think of it. I couldn't even see him, there was a man with a thinning head of curly dark hair three rows up from me. So I was just listened to the beauty of his voice float around us all through the sound system. I missed him so much. I felt my fists clench together at the girl who may or may not currently occupy His heart. I kept my eyes on him as he walked back up the aisle slowly, when they were all gone, we were let out. I was determined to find him. He was there, surrounded by his parents and…his friends. My friends had lied! They didn't go back to college; they came to meet Edward here.


	29. Chapter 29

Hello! I'm reposting this, because FanFic messed it up…again…ugh! Thanks for bearing with me in terms of exams and posting-on-time et cetera!

Thanks to everybody who reviewed: There were 33! How amazing! (Imagine yourself in my shoes as you check your e-mail 24 hours after posting and finding that your unread e-mails have shot from 34 to 205!)

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**PenguinsRemindMeOfTwilight**

And, by the by, there are four independent quotes in this chapter, and two sets of dialogue direct from the books! So, whoever can find one of more of them gets a sneak preview!

**I am not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Twenty-nine**

**BPOV**

I could hear snippets of conversation.

Alice said, "Yes, she's fine…doing very well, I might add…"

Rosalie said, "I saw…apartment…going to teach."

Were they talking about me? I decided not to find out, but to hang back until I could catch him on his own. But I didn't have a choice. I saw him and couldn't hold back. I saw his reddish brown hair, his head just a little taller than his brother and father. I longed to run my fingers through the mop of hair on top of his head. I longed to kiss him on the lips. My heart leapt…sort of. I twisted the charm bracelet on my right wrist. I had never stopped wearing it, even when I was sure that I would never see Him again.

But then, he looked up, scanning the crowd. It seemed like Alice had said something to him to trigger this search. She was still talking, but he wasn't paying attention. He ran his hand through his hair. How I longed to do that…just once and then I would leave if he didn't want me. Our eyes met. I hadn't realized how much I was out in the open. I was standing alone. I should have found a group to inconspicuously blend with. Whoops. But it was too late and I didn't care. All I could see were his bright green eyes with their infinite depths. And then I was running. I was halfway across the yard, but I didn't care. He kept staring at me, and I was staring at him. I could feel the longing showing through onto my face.

I saw Alice stop speaking to him and turn her head to face the same as him, toward me. I barely even registered when she said my name. The rest of Hi– Edward's family did, though, and soon they were all watching me as I ran toward them as fast as I could.

And then he was there. He pushed through his family, giving me fewer people to cut through, and pulled me into his arms. And I made my decision right then and there. I didn't care if there was another woman in his life. I was undone. I just wanted him as mine, not as a friend. Mine.

I loved him. I loved him. I loved him.

And so I kissed him. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He, at first, was surprised, he didn't respond. It was just my lips moving on his, and then he kissed me back. I sighed gently, oh God; I couldn't believe that I had missed that for four and half years.

He took his lips off of mine. We both needed to breathe. I was panting from my run and then our kiss. He scooped me up, cradling me against his chest. Leaned against him with my eyes closed and said, "I've missed you, more than you can imagine."

He said, "I've missed you too."

I smiled into his chest, inhaling his scent. And in that instant, I felt _well_. Whole. I was perfect – not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place. I was at the only place I wanted to be. He pressed his forehead to the top of my head. I took advantage of his closeness to kiss him again. And then we were moving. I opened my eyes to see where we were going, and saw that we were heading toward Edward's family and friends which were Edward's family and my friends too. I swallowed, just a little afraid of their reactions. I blushed a bit.

We saw Alice first, "I knew it!" she shouted, pumping her fist into the air.

I buried my face in Edward's chest. Suddenly, my thoughts betrayed me in this happy moment; I pulled his neck down and said, "Am I…are you…" I sighed, "Am I too late? Have I hurt you too much? Have you moved on, as I meant for you to? That would be…quite fair. I won't contest your decision." Even though I would be crushed, "So don't try to spare my feelings, please – just tell me now whether you can still love me after everything I've done to you. Can you?"

"What kind of idiotic question is that?" He said back, a little surprised. I smiled again, it seemed that I had smiled more today than in a million years.

What did that mean? "Just answer it. Please."

"The way I feel about you will never change – and there's nothing you can do about it." He said softly, into my ear.

"Good." I said, and kissed him again. Someone started catcalling. Emmet. I recognized the deep sound at once, joking and annoyed at the same time. I'd forgotten that we weren't alone. And then I realized that the way I was not curved around Edward was not exactly polite for company. I vaguely heard Alice slap her older brother. Embarrassed, I half-stepped away. Edward chuckled and stepped with me, keeping his arms tight around my waist. His face was glowing, like a white flame burned from beneath his pallid skin.

But then Rosalie broke us up again by saying, "So, welcome back Bella. I suppose you made quite an entrance!"

"I did _not_!" I said, "I was in the auditorium the entire graduation. I heard Ed–" I wasn't used to saying his name, "–Edward's speech and everything."

He blushed, "Sorry it wasn't so good."

I bit my lip, "Well, I wasn't actually listening, I was more listening to your voice. You have the most amazing voice, did you know?"

He grinned at my confession, "Um, thanks. But something you said just now…well, it confuses me."

"What's that?"

"Well, you asked me if I could still love you."

"Oh." I didn't remember saying that. It must have slipped out. I didn't want him to love me…or did I? My four years without Charlie had really changed my perspective on life. Whenever I saw a couple I got really jealous. Because I had had that. But it was ripped out of my life. Actually, _I_ ripped it out of my life. Because I was afraid.

And I realized then that I couldn't be without love. It just isn't natural. I'd been having dreams…nightmares, actually…every night about Edward. I would see him in the forest by our former houses where we had our first date, I would run after him to tell him that I loved him, but when I caught up to him I wouldn't be able to say it. Then he would leave and the scenery would change…Edward would come into my apartment and we would have dinner, I would turn to get him more food and when I turned back there would be a woman with him. He would say, "Bella, this is my fiancée." And I would wake up screaming.

When I had good dreams, they were about me and Edward, married surrounded by our children and friends. I really wanted his love, but I wasn't sure if I could take it.

He must have seen something on my face that gave him the hint. "Oh, maybe we should stand over there." He pointed to a bench in the shadow of a tree. We walked over, to sit away from his family. "So," he said, "did you really mean it?"

I knew I couldn't handle it if he turned me down, so I knew that I could handle it if he said that he loved me. I would stay with him no matter what, because nothing was worse than being away from him.

"I don't know Edward," I loved saying his name, hearing my own voice say 'Edward'. I would have to talk to him more often, "I guess I don't know. I mean, I couldn't stand it if you loved anyone else, but I don't know if I can handle love anymore…and that wouldn't be fair to you." I decided to continue with my story for his benefit. "The only people who had ever loved me were Renee, my mother, Charlie, and you. Renee walked out on me fifteen years ago, when I was seven, and left me to Charlie. You know how he used that power…and he claimed to love me too. Then you came along and said that you loved me and I couldn't handle it. Love had left a bad impression on me…if you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean, Bella. I always did. But I guess I didn't realize that you would react so strongly. It was just so _important_ to me to get that out before you left. I've _really_ missed you Bella. I couldn't have gone on much longer. Speaking of which, how did you find me?"

"Oh, that." I was grateful for the change of subject, "I looked it up on the internet, of course. I graduated a few days ago and I decided that I needed to find you." I didn't tell him that I had been becoming desperate, "I wanted to see if you were still at Dartmouth, 'cause that was the last I'd heard from you, and there you were, listed on the website as giving the graduation speech! I rode my good old motorcycle up here. It was actually pretty fun."

He laughed, "That's just like you Bella. I shouldn't have expected anything less. But you should know, I did date one girl in the last four years. Her name was Tanya, she was here today…um" he scanned the crowd for her, "I don't see her, but I just want you to know that I only dated her on a dare. I really didn't want to. Sorry."

I was instantly jealous. While I was wasting away in New York, some other girl was with Edward. "How long?"

"Hmmm?" He sounded as if I had pulled him from some other train of thought.

"When did you date her, and for how long?"

"Oh, a few years ago and not too long. Only long enough to go to my friend Mike's party. He threatened me so that I would get a girl. I really hated it. I took Tanya because that was his crush. I figured that he would get the hint. I ditched him not long after. He's" Edward pointed to a group of graduates by the door to the auditorium.

I nodded, "Ew." I said for Edward's benefit. This 'Mike character was a cute-ish, baby-faced boy with pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes. I hated him right away for making Edward do something that he didn't want to do. "What does she look like?" I said.

"Who?"

"Tanya."

"Oh, pale skin, gold eyes," he answered too quickly

"And of course, extraordinarily beautiful."

I felt him shrug.

"I suppose, you know what though?"

"What?" My voice was petulant.

He put his lips to my ear; his cold breath tickled. "I prefer brunettes."

"She's a blonde. That figures."

"Strawberry blonde – not at all my type."

I laughed, "I _guess_ that's okay then," I decided.

"Hmm," he whispered against my skin. "You're quite adorable when you're jealous. It's surprisingly enjoyable."

I scowled.

He pulled the subject, forcibly, back to me. "So, did you really mean it when you asked if I could still love you?"

I still wasn't sure, so I decided to take a chance. I would say 'yes' and see if my fragile heart could manage it.

When I finally got the word out, Edward's answering smile was huge. It blinded me…I had an odd urge to blink – like I was staring at the sun. All thoughts were pushed from my head, and I found that I didn't mind him loving me as long as it made him happy.

"Well, if you really did mean it, then _yes_, I love you. I always have and always will."

I sighed blissfully. I was in heaven. I loved this man, and I always would. I told him as much. "Me too," I said.


	30. Chapter 30

Hello again, guys! Thanks for holding up, again, I think FanFic messed up my last chapter, put in words that had been on a comment on my Word document…I've reposted the chapter, if you haven't noticed. But whatever happened, I was so pleased with all of the reviews that I got, despite the fact that I didn't post for a whole week!

Thanks to those who reviewed:

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**...baby.**

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and

**Emmett's Girl 47**

And thanks to all of you who found the quotes:

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**Written-real-life**

The quotes last chapter were:

"**And in that instant, I felt **_**well**_**. Whole. I was perfect – not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place." **(New Moon 452)

"**Am I too late? Have I hurt you too much? Have you moved on, as I meant for you to? That would be…quite fair. I won't contest your decision. So don't try to spare my feelings, please – just tell me now whether you can still love me after everything I've done to you. Can you?"**

"**What kind of idiotic question is that?" **

"**Just answer it. Please."**

"**The way I feel about you will never change – and there's nothing you can do about it."** (New Moon 511-2)

"**Emmet. I recognized the deep sound at once, joking and annoyed at the same time. I'd forgotten that we weren't alone. And then I realized that the way I was not curved around Edward was not exactly polite for company. Embarrassed, I half-stepped away. Edward chuckled and stepped with me, keeping his arms tight around my waist. His face was glowing, like a white flame burned from beneath his pallid skin." **(Breaking Dawn 395)

"**Hmmm?" He sounded as if I had pulled him from some other train of thought."** (Twilight 293)

"**a cute-ish, baby-faced boy with pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes."** (Twilight 25)

"**skin, gold eyes," he answered too quickly**

"**And of course, extraordinarily beautiful."**

**I felt him shrug.**

"**I suppose, you know what though?"**

"**What?" My voice was petulant.**

**He put his lips to my ear; his cold breath tickled. "I prefer brunettes."**

"**She's a blonde. That figures."**

"**Strawberry blonde – not at all my type."**

**I laughed, "I **_**guess**_** that's okay then," I decided.**

"**Hmm," he whispered against my skin. "You're quite adorable when you're jealous. It's surprisingly enjoyable." **

**I scowled. **(Eclipse 194 )

and

**I had an odd urge to blink – like I was staring at the sun.** (Breaking Dawn pg. 395)

Thanks again guys! And remember, **I am not Stephenie Meyer! **

**Chapter Thirty**

**EPOV**

So I had graduated. I was outside on the lawn, talking to my family. Actually, I was listening to them talk. Mostly Alice was doing the talking. I'm always surprised at how different twins can be. I know that better than most, I suppose. So I was listening to Alice prattle on and on about her weekend. It seemed that she had gone to visit Bella. My Bella. My Beautiful Bella.

I missed her so much. I wished that I could see her just once. I remembered that time when I considered my three wishes. They were Charlie was nice, and that Bella's hand would be back to normal again, and that we could be together forever. My wishes had changed considerably. Now that Bella was away from Charlie, I couldn't care less if he got himself into trouble, I was sure at that point that Bella's hand was back to normal by now…and Bella was done with me. Now my wishes were that I could see Bella again, that my family would stop bothering me about her, and that we could all live out the rest of our lives happily and peacefully. I knew that I would never be happy without her…but I could be close if I knew that she was happy.

I was very conscious of my mother's arm tight around me and my father's blinding smile. I didn't respond of course, talk of Bella just depressed me. But I had to know about her. I said, "Is she okay?"

Alice said, "Yes, she's fine. She's still in college, she started a year later than us, but she has a steady job as well. She's doing very well, I might add."

I said, "Are you sure?" I just wanted more information.

Rosalie said, "Of course, we were just there weren't we? I saw her apartment and as Alice said, she is going to graduate and teach at a New York public school."

Alice got her thoughtful look. It seemed like she was trying to remember something. This was rare; she was gifted with an unusually good memory. She said. "I _think_ that she is coming to see you, but she never actually said that."

Alice kept talking but I tuned her out. I looked up from my small circle of family and friends to scan the crowds. I hoped…wished…that she would be here. And she was.

I nearly started running toward her right away. I didn't want to scare her like I had before. But I so much wanted to touch her, to talk to her, to kiss her. My eyes memorized her new face, her older face. She had deep circles under her eyes, like she hadn't slept in a while, and her hair was shorter. She had cut it evenly to hang around her ears. Her eyes were shocked and chagrinned. She also looked older, obviously, and much more confident. I supposed that four and a half years away from Charlie had strengthened her confidence.

She was frozen where she was, not moving, just staring at my face. I ran my hand through my hair, a little self-conscious. I saved her eyes for last. I looked deep into her dark pools of chocolate brown eyes, I saw into her soul in that one small second. I saw happiness, and defiance, lots of longing, but mostly sadness. My poor Bella. I wondered if eye contact would scare her away if it used to. I wasn't sure if she was going to run…and then she started running. My heart sank until I realized that she was running toward me.

Then it leapt.

I was rememorizing face, staring into her eyes while still taking in her soft, full, kissable lips. Her soft, silky hair (although she'd cut it to a different length). Her beautiful cheekbones, the very same one that had that awful, and almost constant, bruise on it and her soft chin and her one dimple. I examined her eyes and found that the circles I'd seen at first glance were really almost etched into her face. I assumed that she didn't really get much sleep.

Alice noticed that I wasn't listening to her rambling anymore. She looked up and followed my line of sight to Bella. She breathed one word, "Bella…"

The rest of my family turned (and of course so did Rosalie and Jasper). She was still running toward us, even though we were all watching her. I don't know why she didn't stop. She had always been very self-conscious. And so I figured it was okay to approach her. I pushed passed Alice and walked toward her. Bella.

My Beautiful Bella.

How I loved her. I longed to scoop her into my arms and snog her senseless. Bella ran into me, I caught her and held her up. Her beauty both knocked my breath out of me and snapped me back into reality. I wondered if it was alright to kiss her. I remembered how shy she used to be. But Bella answered that question for me. She reached onto her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips. I hadn't ever seen this side of her! I was shocked at first, but my body responded to her excitement quickly. I wrapped my arms tighter around her waist and kissed her back forcefully. I was trying to melt into her. My beautiful Bella.

But, unfortunately, we were human and both needed to breathe. Oh well. I took my lips off of hers and we both gasped for air. I could feel the stares of my family boring into my back. I ignored them, and picked Bella up without thinking. The way her body fit into my arms was familiar, comforting. She had gained some weight, though that was good. She was obviously feeding herself better than Charlie had been feeding her.

Bella, my love, leaned into my chest and whispered with her eyes tightly closed, "I've missed you, more than you can imagine."

I sighed, "I've missed you too." And it was the truth.

She nestled her head into my chest and breathed deeply. I wondered if she was trying to calm herself just as I was trying to calm myself. She shifted in my arms and the intoxicating scent of her strawberry shampoo filled my nose. I leaned closer to her, meaning to give her comfort, and inhaled her floral scent. She turned her head up and kissed me again.

Whoa Bella, I was surprised.

I felt my family's stares again and began to walk toward them. Alice was the first to speak, "I knew it!" she shouted, pumping her fist toward the sky. Of course she did, Alice was a very good guesser.

I smiled slightly, but Bella just tried to bury herself deeper into my chest, ah, there was the self-conscious Bella that I knew. But then she asserted herself once more. Her years away from Charlie had really changed her. She pulled my head down; I delighted in the feel of her warm hands on my neck, and whispered to me. She said, "Am I…are you…" She sighed, "Am I too late? Have I hurt you too much? Have you moved on, as I meant for you to? That would be…quite fair. I won't contest your decision. So don't try to spare my feelings, please – just tell me now whether you can still love me after everything I've done to you. Can you?"

I was shocked, how could she even _think_ that I could have moved on from her? Of course I still loved her…wait…loved her? Wasn't that the very thing that made her avoid me for four and a half years? I skirted around the real question, wondering if what I said would set her off again. I said, "What kind of idiotic question is that?" I grinned at her, but she didn't get the message.

She was very serious when she said, "Just answer it. Please."

I complied while not actually admitting the gravity of my feelings toward her, "The way I feel about you will never change – and there's nothing you can do about it."

She seemed pleased, she kissed me again…that's always a good sign…or maybe I just like it…maybe both? I heard Emmett start whistling in the background, but I ignored him. Alice slapped him for me. She always knew what I was about to do. Maybe it's the twin thing. Or maybe she's just talented.

But Rosalie said, "So, welcome back Bella. You made quite an entrance!" I was slightly peeved at her for ruining another good kiss.

Bella flushed, I loved that color red with her skin. "I did _not_!" I said, "I was in the auditorium the entire graduation. I heard Ed – Edward's speech and everything." I wondered why she had stuttered over my name, but I didn't ask.

I felt the heat rising to my face. I would have worked harder on my speech if I had known that she would be there, listening! I said, "Sorry it wasn't so good."

She bit her lip, "Well, I wasn't actually listening, I was more listening to your voice. You have the most amazing voice, did you know?"

I grinned. She like the sound of my voice? Wow. "Um, thanks." I decided that we should get a few things all straightened out, now or never! "But something you said just now…well, it confuses me."

"What's that?"

"Well, you asked me if I could still love you."

"Oh." There was a very long, awkward pause.

I saw the indecision and surprise on her face. I decided that some things were best left to talk about in private. I suggested that we move over to a shaded bench. "So, did you really mean it?"

"I don't know Edward," she said, lazing over my name, drawing it out this time. "I guess I don't know. I mean, I couldn't stand it if you loved anyone else, but I don't know if I can handle love anymore…and that wouldn't be fair to you." I opened my mouth to object, but she kept talking. "The only people who had ever loved me were Renee, my mother, Charlie, and you. Renee walked out on me fifteen years ago, when I was seven, and left me to Charlie. You know how he used that power…and he claimed to love me too. Then you came along and said that you loved me and I couldn't handle it. Love had left a bad impression on me…if you know what I mean."

I was horrified, I didn't realize…I never knew…but, actually, maybe I did. I always knew that what I had said offended her, and I knew that she had survived worse. So I had deduced that I must had said something really _really_ bad in order for her to kick me out of her life altogether. I had figured _that_ much out before it hurt too much to think about her. I smiled, knowing that now I had her back and I could think of her all that I wanted.

"I know what you mean, Bella. I always did. But I guess I didn't realize that you would react so strongly. It was just so _important_ to me to get that out before you left. I've _really_ missed you Bella. I couldn't have gone on much longer." Now this simple reunion conversation was getting pretty tense. I moved the subject on to happier things, like the reason for out reunion. "Speaking of which, how did you find me?"

"Oh," she said, "that. I looked it up on the internet, of course. I graduated a few days ago and I decided that I needed to find you. I wanted to see if you were still at Dartmouth, 'cause that was the last I'd heard from you, and there you were, listed on the website as giving the graduation speech! I rode my good old motorcycle up here. It was actually pretty fun."

I laughed, pretty fun to rider her motorcycle for what must have been a freezing two days straight?! I laughed at Bella, she obviously was trying to hide her desperation to see me from me. I saw right through her, of course, but I didn't let it show. "That's just like you Bella. I shouldn't have expected anything less. But you should know: I did date one girl in the last four years. Her name was Tanya, she was here today…um" I looked around, "I don't see her, but I just want you to know that I only dated her on a dare. I really didn't want to. Sorry."

I don't know why that came out of my mouth. I think that my body had decided that I should get all the Tanya awkwardness out of the way before the two of us moved onward. Why? I don't know.

She was quite jealous. "How long?" she said quickly.

"Hmmm?" I had still been thinking of how to break it to her.

"When did you date her, and for how long?"

"Oh, a few years ago and not too long. Only long enough to go to my friend Mike's party. He threatened me so that I would get a girl. I really hated it. I took Tanya because that was his crush. I figured that he would get the hint. I ditched him not long after. He's…" I trailed off and pointed to him instead of describing him.

She nodded and said, "Ew." I don't know why she did. "What does she look like?"

Mike's not a 'she', "Who?"

"Tanya."

"Oh, pale skin, brown eyes," I said, revealing the more trivial traits about my ex girlfriend.

"And of course, extraordinarily beautiful."

I shrugged, Tanya wasn't really that pretty …why would she think that? I felt the need to comfort her. "I suppose, you know what though?"

"What?" She was quite disgruntled.

I whispered in her ear. "I prefer brunettes."

"She's a blonde. That figures."

"Strawberry blonde – not at all my type."

She laughed, "I _guess_ that's okay then,"

"Hmm," he whispered against my skin. "You're quite adorable when you're jealous. It's surprisingly enjoyable."

She scowled.

I wanted to keep the subject off of sensitive issues, but I was sure that neither of us would be happy if we didn't talk about them. And I asked. "So, did you really mean it when you asked if I could still love you?"

Bella's eyes got a little wide, and she opened her mouth to say something, then she snapped it shut and mumbled, "Yes."

I was so happy! I hadn't been that happy in over four years. I would have jumped up and down if she wasn't leaning on me. I wonder if she heard my heart thumping erratically. I said, overjoyed, "Well, if you really did mean it, then _yes_, I love you. I always have and always will."

She sighed, and admitted, "Me too." I pulled her closer to me, I was sure that what she had just heard (from me) was hard.

And by the way, risking offense to you guys: _**Steelers Rule! We totally won! **_Although let me say that it was the longest game of my life. I had, like, three heart attacks!


	31. Chapter 31

Sorry about the long wait! And just for that, another double post! How does that sound? Good?! Thanks to my loyal reviewers:

**LostGirl99**

**Angels and Airwaves**

**cbarkins**

**LilSrawberriBananaMasochist**

**lovededwardalways**

**mytwilightmenxXx**

**Rabid Tofu**

**pmvb11**

**snowfire81**

**mercedesfrk1121**

**GiselleIsLMFAO247**

**twilighter97**

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**Ratava100d**

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**Emmett's Girl 47**

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**luv-me-sum-edward**

**teamedward707**

**Stalle**

**x0xDrumMajorx0x**

**faeriegal713**

**slmCandle**

and

**.Lie**

And I didn't say anything about quotes for the last chapter, but this was the one that was not a repeat (identified last chapter):

"**I caught her and held her up. Her beauty both knocked my breath out of me and snapped me back into reality."** (Adapted from New Moon pg. 451)

Thanks guys! No quotes this chapter!

Finally: I got this PM from faeriegal713 and though it would be a good idea to share it with you guys!

"This is a fictional story, but this really does happen to children and  
adults for years at a time until someone is brave enough to report it. The  
police, the ER, any doctor, any nurse, paramedics, a social worker, a  
psychologist, counselor, teacher, principle, day care person and anyone else  
in a similar type job are REQUIRED BY LAW to report any suspected child abuse  
to Social Services or Child/Adult Protective Services. You can report this  
yourself anonymously to anyone of these sources including Social Services  
directly. All you have to know is the child's (or adult's, it happens to them  
too) name and if possible the name of the abuser and the child's address or  
school or physician or some way like that to contact them. Report what your  
suspicions are and they can take it from there. IF there is a situation like  
Bella's where it is someone in an authority position, Social Services or Child  
Protective Services DO NOT go through the Police or they will go through a  
different department. Police officers may want to protect their own, but  
there are units devoted to this that just want to help the child. PLEASE  
PLEASE PLEASE REPORT IT!"

**I'm not Stephenie Meyer!**

**Chapter Thirty-one**

**EPOV**

And then Bella started to cry. She was sobbing into my chest, grabbing onto my hands, arms, and shoulders. I just patted her back and whispered soothing words into her ear. I glanced back at my family; they were all confused and obviously worried. I nodded at them, told them that everything was fine.

Bella started speaking, "Ed-Edward…you're here, oh Edward."

"Are you alright Bella?"

"Yes, yes, I'm alright! I'm just so _happy_ that I found you. I'm not sure that I could have gone home without you."

"I'm not sure I could have gone on much longer either. I probably would have come to find you even if you hadn't come for me."

I stopped talking, she stopped crying, and we just sat in silence for a while.

"Bella?"

"Yes?"

I needed to know more. "What have you been up to? Tell me all about yourself."

"I'll go first, but you'll need to tell me about yourself too. I've missed four and half years of your life!"

"Okay."

She started babbling, "So, after you" she swallowed, "left, I drove to New York and went to my apartment. I got a job at a travel company and have been working part time there at the front desk, you know, selling tickets and such. Then after a few months of that I went around, looking for colleges. I found the City University of New York offering full scholarships to good students who want to be school teachers. So I got to go to college and I got a guaranteed paid job after that! I graduate next year, and until then I'll still be working at the travel agency I guess." She was done, "By the way, are you interested in any tickets to go anywhere?"

She was just joking, but I knew of only one place that I wanted to go, "How about a one way ticket to New York City?"

"Really?"

"Well, no." her face fell, "I have a car."

"Okay," her smile was back, "now tell me about yourself."

"No, you're not done yet. I want to know about _you_ not about what you do!"

"What? Like what? There's nothing interesting about me."

"What are you talking about? You're very interesting."

She blushed, "Really, you're going to have to ask me questions, I don't think that I can come up with stuff to tell you on my own!"

"Aright then, um," I tried to think back to the days when we were together, what had I asked her about then? "Um, so…" I was drawing a blank, had it really been that long?

She chuckled, "You really want to come back to New York with me?"

"Sure, 'course I do."

"Well, I have to be at work tomorrow, so you could meet me there in a few days, I guess," Even as she said that, she held onto me more tightly than ever. I wasn't sure what message that she was trying to send.

I said, hesitantly, "I'm not sure if I could be away from you for that long. How about we put your motorcycle into my trunk and we head on down together; does that sound good?"

"Yeah," she gasped for air, "yeah it does."

I put my arm around her, and started to rub her back. She tensed, a bit, so I stopped. But I had to have some sort of physical contact with her. So I placed my hand on the small of her back, just above where her shirt ended.

She gasped, arched her back away from my hand, and scooted forward on the bench, shaking a little. I thought that she was shivering from cold, so I hugged her close to my body. Then she let out a primal scream, still shaking, and knocked my arm off of her.

And then she froze. She sat completely still, her butt halfway off of the bench, looking into nowhere, and her fists loosely clenched and raised to shoulder height. She wasn't shaking anymore; she was taking deep breaths, quick deep breaths. It was very odd; the doctor in me analyzed my patient. It seemed like she was going into shock, and was trying to suck in more air. I scooted away from her. I had no idea what to do. I noticed something shiny on her wrist just before Bella's wrists were no longer in my view.

Rosalie had run over when Bella screamed, and Alice was right behind her. Rosalie knelt at Bella's feet while Alice snuck up on her from behind to grab her fists. Rosalie started whispering, "Bella, Bella, nobody's hurting you. You'll be fine. It's not Charlie. He's not here. It's Edward. You love Edward. He's sitting right behind you. He's going to take your hands now." Alice motioned to me, and I took Bella's wrists from her. Rosalie was still murmuring to Bella. "Bella? Bella, can you hear me? Bella, nobody's hurting you. Nobody at all. You're safe, and in New Hampshire. You're not anywhere near Forks. Bella, calm down. Breathe. Please."

Alice, still behind Bella, began to stroke Bella's hair. Rosalie glared at her, and Alice immediately stepped back. I fought the instinct to protect my twin.

Rosalie, rubbing Bella's knee, looked at me, "Whisper into her ear."

It was an order, so I did. "Bella? Sweetheart, are you alright? It's me, Edward. I love you. I'm not going to hurt you."

I was winging it. I assumed, from Alice and Rosalie's behaviors, that Bella had frozen as a defense mechanism and now she was quite dangerous to us and herself. I assumed that was why we kept her fists in check.

It had only been ten seconds, but it was the longest ten seconds of my life, before Bella relaxed and slumped over. And she was crying again. Jeez. I'd never made a girl cry before I met Bella, and now I'd made her cry twice in one day. A new record.

I remained silent; I didn't know what to do.


	32. Chapter 32

More drama for Edward and Bella! Sorry! I know you thought it was over…sorry? Well, happy reading! Or not… There are three really small and obscure quotes in this chapter. None of them are more than seven words, and none are full sentences. Let's see if you can get them! Good luck!

**I'm not Stephenie Meyer**

**Chapter Thirty-two**

**BPOV**

"Sure, 'course I do."

"Well, I have to be at work tomorrow, so you could meet me there in a few days, I guess," I didn't want to leave him ever again. Even as my mouth said those words, I clutched myself closer to him and my mind was screaming at me for ever proposing that I leave without him.

He said, hesitantly, "I'm not sure if I could be away from you for that long. How about we put your motorcycle into my trunk and we head on down together; does that sound good?"

"Yeah," I gasped for air, "yeah it does."

It all started when he began to rub my back. It was quite unexpected physical contact. Something I wasn't used to. I don't believe that anyone had ever touched me without my permission except for Charlie. And when we were being romantic, I didn't mind. However, this was different, unexpected. So I tensed. He stopped.

But then he put his hand back on me. It was on my back, just above my waistline, even a little below the hem of my skirt. It reminded me too much of when Charlie had sex with me. He would run his hands up and down my back before he pulled down my pants and ripped off my shirt. The combination of the back rubbing and the hand-placing was too much. I went into defense mode.

I moved away from his hand, scooting away on my bench a little. He told me later that I was shaking; I don't remember shaking at all. He told me later that because I was shaking he held me closer. But I thought that he was taking me captive. It was like Charlie all over again, claiming me as his daughter and lover both with his sperm. Awful.

So I knocked his arm away and moved forward on the bench, I don't remember it, but Rosalie and Alice and Edward all tell me that I screamed like an animal. I froze, still in defense mode. I clenched my hands into fists, but of course not perfect fists because of my defective finger, ready to defend myself. All I wanted was for him to leave. I was acutely aware of Edward who was frozen beside me. My entire body was waiting for some kind of attack.

Edward didn't know what to do, but Rosalie and Alice did, or so I'm told. I was in a sort of trance, only aware of Edward. I didn't even notice when Alice took my hands. Then Rosalie was in front of me and saying, "…Edward. You love Edward. He's sitting right behind you. He's going to take your hands now."

I was hyperaware of every dust mote that Edward disturbed in order to take my hands into his own iron grip. "…Forks. Bella, calm down. Breathe. Please."

I was still frozen.

And then Edward's lips disturbed a few particles of air near my ear. "Bella? Sweetheart, are you alright? It's me, Edward. I love you. I'm not going to hurt you."

I was suddenly very tired; I slumped over where I sat. My entire being refocused. I remembered that my reason for existing was not to destroy Edward. And then I felt horrible.

And I was crying again. The emotional rollercoaster was too much for me. I felt like such a cry baby, but I also felt inadequate. I most definitely was not good enough for Edward. I don't understand why he would want me, damaged as I am.

I stood from the bench, Rosalie and Alice had gone. I turned to face Edward, who had remained seated, surely this was a sign that he didn't want to follow me everywhere. I said, "Edward, congratulations on graduating from Dartmouth." And I walked away. I don't know where I found the courage in me to do it. But I did. I walked away from my own personal sun.

And he didn't follow after. I was right. My little episode had scared him off. I had been waiting for him to run away, screaming as he went, but now I was doing the screaming and the, running both.

"Bella?"

"I'll see you around, Edward." I couldn't say more, or else I would start crying.

"But, Bella, what are you doing? Wait!"

I could hear him hurrying after me, so I ran. I ran to my motorcycle and didn't look back. Maybe I should have. It would have saved me a long trip.


	33. Chapter 34

Hello All. Thank you for being so patient with me. I'm really…well, sorry doesn't even begin to express how bad I feel for leaving you guys in the lurch for six months. But, real life always comes first. Sorry.

So, because of real life, there are going to be some changes in the ways that I operate. I can try to give out previews, but that isn't a guarantee, like I didn't give out any for this chapter. And I probably will be able to update once per week, not twice. I'm really sorry guys. And there will probably be no more notes listing those who review. Sorry.

And one last thing before I defer to my chapter: I tried to make it a point to reply to all my reviewers, but as of now, I'm only going to reply if the review is more than the usual "great chapter" or "update soon". I just don't have time to respond to more than ideas and suggestions and questions. Sorry! I really am! Thanks for bearing with me you guys. I hope you understand?

**Disclaimer: Only the plot of this story belongs to me!**

**Chapter Thirty-three**

**EPOV**

And when she left, my world was plunged into darkness. I don't know why she did. I hope that I hadn't scared her off. When she was gone I just sat there. I didn't even notice when Rosalie came up behind me. But I noticed when she hit me.

She sat down on me right, and then her arm flew out and her hand cut across my neck, I couldn't breathe for several seconds. "You complete _arse_!" She shouted. "What in _hell_'s name lead you to believe that touching her like that was acceptable. And then hugging her closer when she was obviously scared? What kind of mule has _your_ brain in its care?"

I started to stammer out an apology, but she held up her hand, "I don't want to hear it, bastard, but if you want to apologize to someone, you had better go find her. And if you come back without her, I _will_ tear your throat out. And then you will die." She looked so fierce, I didn't doubt for a second that she wouldn't tear out my throat for Bella. Wow. I guess that's what a true friend is. Someone willing to kill for you, and for no other reason?

Was I a true friend to Bella? Or anyone? I couldn't imagine ripping out anyone's throat, but I would do anything for Bella, even if that meant killing someone.

So, then once Rosalie left, I went to my car. I jumped in after taking off my graduation gown and putting it in the back seat. I started down the highway. _ "…I drove to New York and went to my apartment. I got a job at a travel company…" _She had said that she lived in New York, so that was where I was going. My car, a Volvo, was definitely faster than her motorcycle. I could find her and follow her home without her even noticing. It turned out to be much easier than that.

Almost as soon as I got on the highway I stopped and pulled over. I saw her, and her motorcycle, parked on the side of the road. I started to slow and began to pull over, hopefully to comfort her, but I was just a tiny bit too late. As I brought the car to a complete stop Bella stood and looked into her hand, as if she was trying to read the future form her palm. Then she turned it over and something fell out of her hand. It glinted in the sun as it fell to the dirt by the side of the road. Then she climbed onto her bike and began down the highway again. I, being already pulled over, jumped out of the car quickly to retrieve whatever Bella had dropped.

It was a bracelet with a broken clasp.

But it wasn't just any bracelet.

I remembered giving it to her.

She opened the box, and I had seen tears gathering where her eyes crinkled together.

_She had taken the bracelet out of its box and I had fastened it to her wrist because she was still having fine motor skill problems. "Wow," she had said "It's so beautiful, it's perfect. Thank you so much."_

"_Happy eighteenth!" I had responded._ I started to tear up, but quickly wiped the wetness away in order to continue driving. I wouldn't let Bella out of my sight until she led me to her apartment. I would clear up any misunderstanding and then do whatever she wanted me to do, even if it was leave and never talk to her again.


	34. Chapter 34 for real this time

Okay Guys, here's another chapter (two in one day!) because I feel really bad. It's just a motivator I guess…

And again, I can't guarantee a sneak preview, but there is a quote in this chapter, and if I do give out previews, you don't want to be left out, eh?

**Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer!**

**Chapter Thirty-four**

**BPOV**

I pulled over quickly, too teary-eyed to see properly, and I thought that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to drive blind on a highway. I sat on the barrier in between the outbound side and the inbound side of the highway.

I put my face in my hands, and quickly stood, shocked out of my misery. There was something around my wrist, something that had never left my wrist from the day that I got it, partly because I loved it, partly because I loved the person who gave it to me, and partly because my fingers wouldn't cooperate enough to unclasp it and I didn't want to ruin it.

But it brought back too many memories, so it had to go. I tried for the first time in three years to take it off, and I failed again. I hoped that my fingers had recovered, but they hadn't. I had to get rid of it, though, so I just pulled it off, I broke the clasp, but it was off. I held it in my palm for a second only, feeling its weight, missing it on my left wrist.

But it brought back too many memories, so I dropped it. I let it fall to the dust on the side of the road and quickly kicked my bike to life and rode away. My tears had cleared now that all reminders of Edward were gone. Maybe, just maybe, I could live without him. No, who was I kidding. I couldn't live without my Edward, but I had to try.

When I got home to my apartment, I was shocked to find that the silver Volvo that had weaved in and out of the lanes on the highway behind me had actually followed me to my apartment building. Whatever, if it was some sadistic stalker intent on torturing me to death, sure, no problem, they wouldn't have to try very hard, I might even run off to meet them.

But it wasn't, they didn't even get out of the car until after I got my mail, went inside and got in the elevator to head to my room.

I opened my door and went inside, I took off my shoes, and skirted the refrigerator to sit on the couch and lose myself in some kind of mindless TV program. I didn't even take off my riding backpack.

I had watched a rerun of Friends for all of three minutes before I heard a knock on the door. What a time.

I went to open the door a crack, without opening the chain. I was too lazy to stand on my tiptoes and look through the peephole. I'm glad that I didn't, I would have seen _him_ and refused to talk. But them I _did_ see him and refuse to talk. At least then he knew I was home.

I opened the door a crack and then shut it tightly and redid all three locks. I heard him say, "Bella!" like he couldn't believe that I would refuse to talk to him. Maybe he was counting on an intelligent discussion. It wasn't meant to be.

What _did_ happen was that I went back to my episode of Friends, and it wasn't too long before I heard the locks on my apartment door break. How _dare_ he! It wasn't like they were drugstore locks. Now I'd have to pay my landlord to replace them. Idiot.

I continued watching Friends, I was confident that my chain would not break.

Then he cried out to me, in such an appealing manner that I couldn't say no to him. I turned the TV off and went to the door, standing a few feet back so that I wouldn't see his face, but could still hear and talk to him.

"Bella!" he said again.

"What." I asked him flatly.

He paused for a moment, "Why did you leave so suddenly, was it because of me? I'm so so sorry that I put my hand there; it was so very…callous of me."

I didn't answer, but instead asked my own question. I ignored all of my carefully set rules, for I was sure that unless he had a gun, he could not reach me to hurt me like Charlie could have. "Why did you follow me home, crazy stalker? First you watch me through my window, and then you actually climbed in and changed my clothing while I was unconscious. Then you followed me home four years later and stalk me to my apartment. Then when I closed the door on you broke the locks which, incidentally, I will have to pay for. I don't know what you want with me, but whatever it is, tell me now so that I can get it over with. Is it sex? Did you like what you saw that first night? Is it money? I've already told you that I have none." I paused for breath and he quickly interrupted me.

"I followed you home," he said slowly, I could hear his anger, despite the fact that he was carefully covering it "because I wanted to be sure that you were alright. I was trying to help you that first night and you know that without me you would be dead. And trust me; I didn't like what I saw." I bit my tongue to keep from replying; he didn't think I was even pretty? "I hated seeing Charlie rape you," oh, "and I hated that there was nothing I could do about it for almost year. I hated that he beat you, I hated that he left you bloody and dying without a second thought. And I hated it that he beat the love out of you so that there was none left for me. So how _dare_ you think that I followed you here just to beat and rape you? And how _dare_ you think that I could just use anyone like that, much less you, Bella. And I have _quite_ enough money, thank you very much. If I wanted yours, I would have to be the most unfeeling and appalling excuse for a man on this planet."

I was wrong. I was _so_ wrong. I didn't mean anything by it, I was just trying to let out my feelings, but I had long known that I should _never_ do that. It was a mistake. I would always just be shot down. Edward was right and I shouldn't have said anything at all, how could I even think like that. I was an awful person. My arm rose of its own accord and slapped my face, hard. It felt like a worthy punishment. If I could, I would be kicking my own ribs right about now. I slapped myself again and again; I must have hit myself about four times before I heard Edward's voice.

"Bella? Bella? Who's in there with you? Who's beating you? Open the door, Bella!"

And I remembered, Edward wouldn't want me punished, he would want me whole, well. The way I was before Renee left me with the man that I had to call 'father' for eleven miserable years. The way that I was for those few short months that I was able to call Edward my own. The tears started to well up in my eyes again.

"N – No one," I sniffled "I'm fine."

"But," he started,

"But nothing," I said, shutting the door in his face.


	35. Chapter 35

Hello everyone! Thanks for reviewing to those of you who did, sorry I didn't really get around to replying to you all. But I try! Sorry! I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Oh, and to those of you who found various quotes over the last few months. All of you had it right! Nice job!

**Disclaimer: All the characters are Stephenie Meyer's, I just tweaked their situations a little bit…or maybe a lot…**

**Chapter Thirty-five**

**EPOV**

I was still in the parking garage to Bella's apartment when she had parked and gone inside. It was my luck that I saw her locking her mailbox and stepping into the waiting elevator. I saw the number on her mailbox: 603

I called the next elevator and went to the 6th floor. I found 603 and proceeded to knock on her door. She opened it, with a remote in her hand and looking simply tired, and then slammed it in my face. I heard her locks closing quickly and then the TV became a bit louder. I was surprised, Bella had always been levelheaded, I thought. We needed to talk, I knew it, and she knew it, she just couldn't face her fears, the same way that she couldn't leave Charlie until she was 18. I leaned hard on her door, I hit it once softly, and then decided that it was no use, she wasn't going to open the door, no matter what I did. I took a paperclip out of my wallet and jammed it into each lock. They each tumbled open.

But then, damn! The chain wouldn't even give an inch. I twisted the knob, but nothing happened when I pushed against the chain! I wondered why Bella had installed such a thick chain, was it because she was of Charlie? "Bella!" I groaned, I needed to talk to her! I heard the TV shut off; maybe she was going to walk away and leave me hanging. I would stay there all night if I had to.

I heard her approach the door, then stop. She didn't come near me, but I could see her stationary feet, so I knew that she wasn't going to come any closer. "Bella!" I said again.

"What." She said without emotion.

I was surprised to hear her voice so flat. I expected some emotion at least, even if it was sadness or anger! The detached intonation was worse than anything. "Why did you leave so suddenly," I said, "was it because of me? I'm _so_ sorry that I put my hand there; it was so very…callous of me."

She didn't answer, and instead started asking her own questions. "Why did you follow me home, crazy stalker? First you watch me through my window, and then you actually climbed in and changed my clothing while I was unconscious. Then you followed me home four years later and stalk me to my apartment. Then when I closed the door on you broke the locks which, incidentally, I will have to pay for." I didn't interrupt her to tell her that I had only picked the locks, not broken them, "I don't know what you want with me, but whatever it is, tell me now so that I can get it over with. Is it sex? Did you like what you saw that first night? Is it money? I've already told you that I have none." She took a breath and I decided that she couldn't be allowed to talk anymore. She was convincing herself that I was just like him, like Charlie! She couldn't throw me out of her life like that! I hated that animal for making her feel like any love is a danger!

I spoke slowly, trying not to let my anger for Charlie show through and be misinterpreted by Bella, "I followed you home because I wanted to be sure that you were alright. I was trying to help you that first night and you know that without me you would be dead. And trust me; I didn't like what I saw." How could she even think that? "I hated seeing Charlie rape you, and I hated that there was nothing I could do about it for almost year. I hated that he beat you, I hated that he left you bloody and dying without a second thought." The memory made me flinch, though she couldn't see it, "And I hated it that he beat the love out of you so that there was none left for me. So how _dare_ you think that I followed you here just to beat and rape you? And how _dare_ you think that I could just use anyone like that, much less you, Bella. And I have _quite_ enough money, thank you very much. If I wanted yours, I would have to be the most unfeeling and appalling excuse for a man on this planet."

There was a pause, short but filled. Then I heard the soft slap of flesh on flesh. Someone was hitting _my Bella_! "Bella? Bella? Who's in there with you? Who's beating you? Open the door, Bella!" It was all I had to not break down her door, throw my whole weight against it despite the chain lock.

"N – No one," Bella sniffled "I'm fine." I could hear that her eyes were rapidly filling through the door.

But I had heard someone hitting her! "But," I started to say before she cut me off.

"But nothing," she said, shutting the door in my face. This was the end, my shoulders slumped. A single tear carved a path down my face. I closed my eyes briefly and was about to walk away when I heard the slow scrape of a chain being pulled back. It was just like a movie, when everything goes in slow motion when the lovers are about to reunite. My world stopped. And then there was the click of the chain falling against the door. And then the door opened again. I stood straight and had ample slow-motion-time to register Bella's face as she all but flew out of her apartment and into my arms. I had just enough time to fling my arms open to envelope her before she crashed into me.

The force was enough to slam me onto the opposite wall of the narrow hallway; and it was then that time resumed. I didn't have time to even think before her lips were on me. She was laughing with tears streaming down her face, kissing my chest, my arms, my neck, my face, her arms wrapped tightly around my waist.

I pressed my lips to the top of her head. "Oh Edward!" she sobbed, "I was so stupid…I should have known. Were you sad…can you forgive me? I only caught parts of her sentences, still trying to register her face from when the door first opened. She had been looking at me with a light in her eyes, a light that I hadn't ever seen in them. Something that was so happy. It was like the first time I'd seen her laugh, it was Earth shattering! It was so innocent and light, even _loving_! It was the exact opposite of what she had looked like with Charlie. When she had flown me out of the door like that, with her hair streaming behind her, she looked like an angel…my angel. And I couldn't understand it because she was looking at me and clutching at me like I was her messiah, but she was _my_ messiah. It was the opposite way around!

My love, my angel, my messiah, my savior, my life. I swept her off of her feet, she laughed again.

She unwrapped her arms from me and grabbed my hand, tugging it like a four year old trying to show her mother the preschool classroom that she loved. "Come on!" she said, "You have to see my apartment!"

I smiled softly, "Alright."

She laughed again, a giddy schoolgirl this time. She pulled me inside of the door and closed it behind her. She reached for the locks and frowned a bit before turning from them. "Bella." I called her attention to me.

"Hmm?" she responded.

"You can lock the door, you know. I only picked the locks, I didn't break them." I reached behind me and twisted all three locks closed. She rolled her eyes at me, and then pointed at the floor, where there was a straw mat.

"Shoes off." She said, directing me with her hand. I slipped off my dress shoes and kicked them onto the mat. I reached to take off my sweatshirt, wet from the rain that was in New Hampshire. "No, no!" she said, "Just hurry and come with me!" She led me on a tour of her apartment. To the left was the kitchen, and then to the right was the living room. They were right across the entry hall from each other. Then, forward and a bit to the right was the master bedroom and the room on the right of that was the second bedroom. On the left of both bedrooms was the bathroom.

Her living room was small and consisted of a plush yellow velvet couch and a yellow area rug to cover the wooden flooring. There was a small TV across from the couch, but it was dusty and looked underused. There was a coffee table over the rug stacked with books and the floor around it was littered with papers and what looked like homework assignments. She blushed; I loved her blush, and dropped my hand to stack some of the papers into a haphazard pile and sorted the books into a few piles. The table was clear within minutes, the schoolwork and books were tucked neatly underneath the mahogany masterpiece.

I smiled and shook my head at her innocent embarrassment. "My dorm looked worse than that for the last four years without exception, Bella."

She giggled, "Hey, Edward," she said, suddenly thinking of something to say.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering, have you found a place to stay after college?"

I hadn't actually, but I had decided to go to medical school. I was going to stay in a dorm there. I had already applied. I had been accepted to Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, and a couple of others that weren't as impressive. At that moment I decided to go to the one in New York, Columbia "Nope." I told Bella.

"Well then you have got to stay here with me!" she all but shouted.

"Alright, alright! I'll stay here if you really want!" She nodded her head emphatically, and I laughed at her childish insistence. She was acting so young today; I think it was the happiness! I didn't know that it wasn't going to last. And thus I was happy too.

I thought that our joy would last forever.


	36. Chapter 36

Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it! And a side note: Just because I don't have time to respond to every review, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them all! Each and every review that I get brightens my day a little bit more! (I know that's sort of mushy… but after you read this chapter, you'll see why I'm in such a mushy mood!)

**Disclaimer: This all belongs to the lovely Stephenie! Thanks for letting me borrow your characters!**

**Chapter Thirty-six**

**BPOV**

I was kissing every part of him that my body could reach, clutching him tightly, and trying to fuse myself into him. He seemed more than a little amused, and a bit dazed. I didn't care! I sensed that he was getting embarrassed from standing outside of my apartment and getting kisses. I wouldn't have been embarrassed, I wasn't, but I took him inside anyway.

I grabbed his hand and showed him around. I made him take off his shoes, I rarely ever had guests, and making people take off their shoes was a privilege that I rarely got to indulge in! Then we got to my living room. I was embarrassed then. I had totally forgotten that my school things were scattered all over the place! I quickly dropped his hand and ran to clean up quickly. I stacked the papers into random piles; I would organize them later, but was more careful with the books. Soon mostly everything was in its proper place underneath the table.

Then I showed him the kitchen, it was thin but clean like a kitchen should be. Everything in that room was in its proper place. Everything was scrubbed clean, and the cabinets were sparkling.

He seemed to find my spotless kitchen amusing, so I took him to my bathroom. We only spent a few seconds in there. It seemed a bit weird to give someone a long tour of the bathroom. After that, we went to the guest bedroom. Its theme was brown. The bedroom furniture set was mahogany wood, and it included a bed, dresser and desk. The walls were painted a light brown, and the quilt on the bed was actually a dark woodsy brown. The curtains hanging on the single window were made out of the same fabric that was the comforter on the bed. It matched well.

"I hope you don't mind brown," I said to Edward, "because you'll be sleeping in here! But if you don't want that, I mean, I could paint that I guess."

"No, I love brown." He said softly.

"Good!" I reached behind him and tugged as his sleeves. "Here," I said, "You can put your sweatshirt in the closet to dry if you want to!"

He did just that. My stomach turned with excitement, he really was going to come and live with me!

Then I dragged him to my bedroom. It was all green; I hoped that he didn't notice. It was insane how much green was in my room. The same furniture that was in the guest room was in my room, but there was also a matching bookshelf next to my desk. On the bottom shelf of the aforementioned piece of furniture was my high school yearbook, unopened since people has signed it four years ago. Also was a camera and a photo album of my four years without Edward in New York, it was sparse. My two copies of the Jane Austen collected works were on the bottom shelf and the teddy bear that I had taken from Charlie's house with my old car keys. My mother's framed picture and my matriculation certificate were framed above my desk. But the thing that bothered me was the small blue crushed velvet box, sitting dusty and unused next to my Jane Austen books. I suddenly remembered what it used to hold. My bracelet.

I shrugged off the upset; nothing could ruin the happiness of today. But Edward noticed. He always knew me better than I knew myself. Even after all this time, he still could have described me perfectly. He could have held my soul in his hand and not know me any better than he already did. "What?" he said, "There's nothing wrong with your room. I love it. The green is lovely, I think."

"Thank you."

"But that's not your problem is it?"

"No, but I'm fine. Here, come with me to the kitchen, I'll find you something to drink."

"Alright, thank you. But would you tell me what's bothering you?"

"Oh, it's no big deal." I left the room ahead of him, already moving toward the kitchen. I missed the weight of my bracelet. It was the only thing that had held me down all four years. Without it, who knows where I would have floated away to? I latched my right hand around my left, cupping my wrist where the bracelet had been. I formed a manacle, holding me to this Earth, holding me to Edward.

I heard his footsteps stop and turn away back toward the bedroom. I turned to see where he was headed, it was to the guest bedroom, I mean, his bedroom. I followed him, "What's up?" I asked.

He didn't answer, but went into his closet for his damp sweatshirt and pulled something out of the pocket. It was small and it glinted in the light.

He handed it to me, and I examined it closer. It was the bracelet! How had he found it? I had left it on the side of the highway near Dartmouth. How had he even known that I didn't have it, or was missing it? I wasn't able to think coherent thoughts let alone speak. I said, "You…I…this, how?" and a few other things that nobody, not even I, could understand.

He cocked his head to one side; he already had a huge smile on his face. "I saw you take it off, and then I followed you home."

Of course he knew what I was going to ask, the little devil. I started to kiss him again, stronger, more forceful this time than even the last.

The bracelet lay forgotten on the floor, where I had dropped it to grab him. I pushed him into his bed by accident. But that made Edward sit in a nice comfortable position for me to climb into his lap. So I did. When I had kissed him last, he hadn't responded, I think he was in shock. But this time he kissed me back. It was like a fire had been lit inside of me. I knew well how to kiss someone. I knew how to please a man without ever taking my clothing off, I knew how to take a beating without opening my mouth, and I knew how to pretend that everything was alright when really I was broken inside. But I didn't know how to react when I was in love.

I didn't understand why my stomach suddenly felt like it was doing back flips and rising at the same time. I didn't understand how I could feel so needy. But I did. I needed so many things at that first moment, I was so vulnerable. But soon my strong mind recovered and I prioritized. The first thing that I needed, the most important thing to me was this: Edward. I needed to feel him, to touch him, to have his skin on my skin, his arms around me, his body on mine.

I took my lips off of his and he leaned forward to capture them again. I let him have another fiery kiss before I reached for his dress shirt. His fancy blue button-down was in my way. Soon it was gone from his body, cast on the floor: a companion to the bracelet. But, of course, that didn't help my need for skin-to-skin contact, so soon my shirt joined his.

And that's when the fear set in.

I pulled away. I was sitting, straddling a half-naked Edward while wearing jeans and a bra only. I blushed at first, realizing what havoc I had wreaked in my frenzy to fuse myself with Edward. Edward's eyes were sad. "Bella, are you afraid?" he asked me. I whimpered and tried to climb off of his lap. "No, Bella, don't!"

I tried harder, afraid. But I looked up into his eyes, not believing that he would even try to hurt me, and I saw what I needed to see. His eyes were not angry or upset or even lustful, they were sad and maybe a bit determined. I stop trying to get off of him; his arms were like a cage of steel around me in any case. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?" he said.

"Yes, but I'm alright now." I said.

He nodded. "I want to show you something Bella. But I need you not to be afraid. This will probably be new to you…I want to show you…is that alright?"

I bit my lip, what was he talking about? But I agreed to whatever he was planning.

"Lie back." He said.

"Can I get my shirt?"

"If you really want it, but I'll just take it off again."

My forehead creased together, _what?_ I thought he was crazy. Why would he want my shirt off? And then it clicked.

"Edward," I said, "this isn't new to me in the slightest. You of all people should know that."

"Just go with the flow Bella. This is new to you _and_ to me. The goal here is to make you happy. Not for you to make someone else happy."

"What?"

But he didn't answer my vague query. Instead he reached round me, and pulled my gently so that I was lying on his new bed. "What are you –" I started to ask, but he silenced me with a kiss. _Um, alright, _I thought. If this was what he was getting at, I was alright with a few extra kisses.

About an hour later I opened my eyes to find Edward staring at me in awe. "You are perfect." He said, amazed.

"Me? No, _you_!" I laughed, "That was…indescribable!"

He bit his lip; his eyes were smiling, "Good."

I exhaled, "Wow."

"I know."


	37. Chapter 37

Hello again. Did you know that 163 people have looked at this story since I poster chapter 36? I was so happy! But here's a question for you: where're all the reviews? I would be so happy if you all just reviewed with a few simple words so that I know you're reading and enjoying the story! Even if a reply isn't guaranteed, I'll do my best! Is thirty seconds of your time too much to ask for? You guys would make my month if I got 50 reviews for this chapter! Thanks guys, I really appreciate it!

**Disclaimer: All of this is mine…except for the everything…**

**Chapter Thirty-seven**

**EPOV  
**

The guest room was brown. My favorite color. And it was no surprise why. Bella's hair and eyes were brown.

"I hope you don't mind brown," she said, "because you'll be sleeping in here! But if you don't want that, I mean, I could paint that I guess."

"No, I love brown." How did she know? I was in awe of her.

She seemed really happy when I put my sweatshirt away in the closet. I wondered why, but I didn't really ponder for long. I remembered how odd Bella was.

Then we went into her room. It was green, a bright color. She had a laptop on her desk that was a few years old and her bed was a bit messed up, but reasonably made. The rest of her room was fairly boring, not very homey other than the two pictures on the wall: her mother and her high school graduation certificate. I watched her from the back and saw Bella give a little shake like she was trying to get rid of some worry. Maybe it was my fault, I should have said something. "What? There's nothing wrong with your room. I love it. The green is lovely, I think." I was, I wondered if she had chosen green for a reason, then I remembered a conversation from a long time ago.

"_Alright, so…what is your favorite thing to do?"_

"_I, um, like to read when I get the chance I guess." She had sounded a bit hesitant, maybe embarrassed? I decided to move on._

"_What is your favorite color?" _

"_Green." She had blushed._

"_Hmm, what's that blush?" I had asked her._

"_Uh, nothing." I pulled my best puppy dog eyes on her, but she only smiled and shook her head before looking down. _

_I lifted her chin so that she was looking at me and ordered her to, "Tell me."_

"_It's the color of your eyes," She sighed, surrendering, staring down at her hands as she was playing with her hair, _she seemed uncomfortable, so I had moved on. Had she painted her room green because of my eyes even though she had left me? God, I loved her.

But, of course, even after that realization, she hadn't been cured. "But that's not your problem is it?" I said.

"No, but I'm fine." She shrugged off her own needs, just as she always had. She hadn't changed too much, I realized, no matter how confident she seemed at Dartmouth. "Here, come with me to the kitchen, I'll find you something to drink."

"Alright, thank you. But would you tell me what's bothering you?"

"Oh, it's no big deal." she moved past me toward the kitchen, but grabbed onto her wrist as she did so. That small movement clued me in. I went back to the brown room: my room to get it. I was so grateful that I hadn't left it in the car; it was right in my sweatshirt.

She followed me and asked, "What's up?"

I didn't way anything, but instead handed her the bracelet. The look on her face was priceless. It was why I loved her. She never could understand why people did things for her. Poor woman, kicked around all her life, she had never had a real family. I resolved to make her part of mine. No matter how long it took, I would marry her.

"You…I…this, how?" she said, and then mumbled to herself a bit.

I smiled really wide, I knew what she was trying to say, "I saw you take it off, and then I followed you home."

And then she attacked me. She was kissing me so hard that I fell back into the bed, my knees were knocked out from under me and I sat down hard, pulling her with me. She climbed up to sit in my lap. I was kissing her harder than I had ever kissed her. She was kissing me harder than she had ever kissed me. And then I sensed a change in the kiss. It was no longer a kiss of happiness or gratitude, but of urgency. She _wanted_ me. As I wanted her. I sensed her vulnerability and kissed her with a bit less force, letting her body know that I wasn't going to hurt her.

Soon she was unbuttoning my shirt. It was an amazing feeling, her small hands caressing my skin. The shirt slid down my arms and was on the floor very soon. I couldn't have cared any less. Then she began to pull off her own shirt. The blouse had buttons so she was getting rid of them as fast as she had disposed of mine. I helped her, and soon her shirt was also on the ground.

And then she was afraid. I could feel it in her. Whatever arousal I had before disappeared as quickly as our shirts had. She pulled back and assessed our situation with her methodical mind. And I realized this: it was now or never.

I didn't want to hurt her or scar her for life (more than she was already scarred), so I had to do this very carefully. "Bella, are you afraid?" She whimpered and began to climb off of me and retrieve her clothing. "No, Bella, don't!" I said. She needed to experience this. If she didn't she would never know that she could do things for herself. In retrospect, there were other times that I could have introduced her to such pleasures, but at the time it seemed like I had no other choices.

She tried harder to escape from my lap, but I held her softly and firmly. She looked up at me, and into my eyes. She apparently got what reassurance she needed from them. She relaxed. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?" I said. I needed to know that she understood that I wouldn't hurt her no matter what.

"A little bit, but not anymore." She said truthfully.

And I said to her, "I want to show you something Bella. But I need you not to be afraid. This will probably be new to you…I want to show you…is that alright?" I wanted to show her how to be happy. And the happiest thing I could think of, I assumed that neither of us had experienced. I certainly hadn't and judging by what I'd seen of her life, she hadn't either.

"Yes." She said confusedly.

"Lie back." I ordered.

"Can I get my shirt?" she asked innocently.

"If you really want it, but I'll just take it off again."

Her forehead creased together, I couldsee her wheels turning, and then she got it. She got the general idea, but not quite the whole thing. "Edward," she said exasperatedly, "this isn't new to me in the slightest. You of all people should know that."

"Just go with the flow Bella. This is new to you _and_ to me. The goal here is to make you happy. Not for you to make someone else happy." I tried to explain it to her without giving too much away and having her run before I could even show her anything.

She was mystified, "What?"

I reached around her and pushed her softly so that she was lying on what was to be my bed. "What are you –" I didn't let her finish, I kissed her. And then I took her bra off and dropped it to the floor with her shirt. I felt her eyelids brush mine and knew that she had closed her eyes. Apparently she was more aware than I thought; she was actually going to let me do this!

I saw her face, her beautiful face, she was otherworldly happy, and I almost cried with satisfaction. _I_ had done that to her! _I_ had made her feel that way. Oh how I loved my angel. When she was finally coherent enough to understand me I said, "You are perfect." to her, and I truly believed it.

"Me? No, _you_!" she laughed, it was a beautiful sound, full of happiness and joy and love and satisfaction. But she blushed then and half whispered half laughed to me: "That was…indescribable!"

I smiled and bit my lip. I hoped it was as amazing as it is fabled to be, especially for her. I hoped that she had gotten her due, after all these years, twenty-two, she finally understood what it was to be loved in the most physical way possible. "Good."

She exhaled, obviously overwhelmed. "Wow."

"I know." I told her, I loved her so much! I loved her, I loved her, I loved her!

She blushed an even deeper red, "Have you ever…"

I was about to gnaw off my lip, "No, but I _am_ a medical student. I know all about this stuff."

"Clinically."

"Well, yes."

I saw a mischievous glint in her eye, "But shouldn't you get some firsthand experience?"

"Bella." It was a warning that she chose to ignore.

"Edward, I want to make you happy, I want you to feel what I just felt. It was the most amazing…the most…just, _please_ Edward?"

"Alright, but if you want to stop, just say something."

She smiled, beatific. "Of course!"

I wondered what had inspired her to be so forthcoming and outgoing. I asked.

She told me.


	38. Chapter 38

Hello again! Sorry for the long wait! (Again!) There's a sentence in this chapter from Twilight… well, it's actually only half a sentence. I'll be so surprised if anybody actually guesses it! But, I'm promising sneak preview for anybody who even guesses! Good luck quote hunting!

Oh, and don't forget to tell me what you thought about the New Moon movie!! Funniest thing ever: In the theater where I went to see it, when Taylor took off his shirt for the first time, everybody broke out into applause! Then, in Volterra, when Pattinson took off his shirt, the entire theater collectively groaned "ewwww…"! I laughed so hard!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or anything about it…**

**Chapter Thirty-eight**

**BPOV  
**

I wanted to know if he had ever been on the receiving end of what he had just given me, so I asked him and he replied like this. "No, but I _am_ a medical student. I know all about this stuff."

"Clinically." Of course he would say that.

"Well, yes."

He was so silly! "But shouldn't you get some firsthand experience?"

"Bella." It was a warning, I didn't care!

"Edward, I want to make you happy, I want you to feel what I just felt. It was the most amazing…the most…just, _please_ Edward?"

"Alright, but if you want to stop, just say something."

Stop, he was crazy! "Of course!"

"Why are you so…I don't know, outgoing…confident? That's not really the right word, but you know what I mean."

"I don't know. I feel free. It's as if you have erased what was left of Charlie on my body…I feel clean, I suppose." I suddenly realized that I was completely naked and he was fully clothed (other than his shirt). "Edward!"

"What?" He looked alarmed.

"Hand me something to wear, will you?"

"No way! You're beautiful, did you know that?"

"Shut up, I was talking." I didn't want to hear anything like that. It made me uncomfortable. I rolled over and shimmied underneath the blanket.

"Yes, you were, but I don't want to hear it. I want to ravish your gorgeous body until you can't think straight any more."

I felt my legs turn to jelly, a completely new sensation for me, but not an unpleasant one. I shivered. Edward heard me. "Are you cold?" he asked me, but before giving me time to think he slid underneath the covers with me. "I'll warm you up."

It didn't take long before I realized that the smart thing to say was, "Yes, I was cold," even though I hadn't been.

He laughed at my outright lie. He was my perfect fit. My soul mate, my other half, my angel, my savior, my messiah, and recently my _devil_. I grinned evilly to myself. He had created a monster! And with that, I fell asleep.

When I awoke in the darkness, it was next to a sleeping Edward, his chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. I sat up, and realized that I was completely naked. I started, and then remembered what had transpired last night. I knew that I would never ever forget that night, not if I lived a thousand lifetimes.

And remembering sent me into a happy oblivion.

The sun was streaming through the small window before I awoke again. This time Edward was gone. The loss sent my being spiraling into reclusion. I took deep breaths to calm myself, knowing that he hadn't gone. It was the first time that I was sure of someone loving me in fifteen years. I didn't realize that then.

I pushed the covers back, and climbed out of Edward's bed. I bit my lip, smiling at how scandalous that sounded, even in my head. I noticed all of my clothes folded into a neat pile on Edward's dresser with my bracelet placed neatly on top of the pile. Edward's shirt was gone, but when I checked, it was in the closet as I suspected.

I could have laughed for joy, he was still here! But I didn't because I realized what a compromising position I was in. Edward was somewhere in my apartment, with only pants on and I was here completely naked. I knew it was silly, but I didn't want him to see me nude, even after the last night.

I made plans to sneak into my own room and get dressed before Edward even noticed. I didn't want to wear the same clothing that I did the night before. I peeked out of Edward's room and saw down the hallway into my kitchen, he was looking in the cabinets, obviously looking to see if he could find any food. Silly man, didn't he know that the food was in the refrigerator? Oh well, I couldn't sneak into my room then. I was hoping that he would have been watching the morning news or something in the living room. But it was not to be. I didn't want to put on clothing from last night. It seemed unholy in a way, almost sacrilegious.

So I put on his shirt. It was the only other article of clothing in the room and it covered me almost down to my knees, so I was all set. I tiptoed into my bedroom and took a fresh outfit out of my closet. It was a dark blue blouse that Alice had bought me and sent at my last birthday. I paired it with a pair of boot-cut jeans. I draped them, and some underwear, over my left arm and found a towel from my linen closet, which happened to be located in my room. I went quietly into the shower.

When I turned on the water, he must have heard me but he didn't make a peep. He didn't disturb my shower one small bit. It took a while for the warm water to massage my muscles, something that I knew Edward could do much better. I registered that the floor of the shower had already been wet; Edward had taken a shower in this very tub. I almost fainted.

But I managed to hold myself together until I got out of the shower and toweled dry. I brushed my teeth and dried my clean hair until it was impeccably straight.

I put on my clothing and stepped out of the bathroom. He was standing there. I almost jumped out of my skin, I was so surprised.

"Isabella Swan," he said, "did you think that you could wake up without my notice?"

"Um, yes?" I said.

"Well, you were wrong my lady! But I forgive you."

He bent down to kiss me and nuzzled my neck a bit before letting me go. I almost fell because my knees were so wobbly, he had to catch me. It was several seconds before I recovered my train of thought. I held his shirt out to him. "Here. I used this as a sort of bathrobe."

He barked out a laugh and took it from me along with my towel. "I'll put these in the Laundromat bag for wash with your clothing, is that alright?"

"Thanks Edward." I gave him a kiss on the lips.

I made my way to my room, but didn't get all the way there, for the smell of fresh coffee assaulted my senses. I abandoned the bedroom idea and went for the coffee. I took a sip of Edward's cup. He wouldn't mind. The time on the microwave was 9:30am. I didn't have to work that day. I had asked for it off because of Edward's graduation, but I had to work the next day. I resolved to make the best of what I had.

What did I need to do? Well, first I needed to get Edward some clothing so that he could leave the house…although, on second thoughts, maybe I shouldn't buy clothing for Edward and keep him in the house with me forever! I needed to buy more food, since I was having a permanent guest, and I needed to go to the gym.

I put Edward's hot cup down and went to my bedroom to find a bag. I'd started using reusable grocery bags. I took three of those and stuffed them into my backpack. I then checked to make sure that I had my drivers' license and my credit card. I was on my way out the door. "I'm going out." I called to Edward, "I've got to go shopping. I'll drop off the stuff here in an hour and then go to the gym."

"Okay." He called back. I heard him walking from the TV room. He embraced me and kissed me again. His naked torso reminded me of my need to get out and buy him clothing.

"Oh, hey, Edward! What size are you?"

"Medium."

The trip to the store was uneventful, and I was able to pick out for Edward quite a few collared shirts and a couple of t-shirts. I didn't want him to have to leave and get his things before I was ready for him to go. I also bought Edward pants and boxers, although I did have to guess on the size. As I was heading out of the store I also grabbed for myself a few nice short sleeved outfits, the days were slowly warming.

As I drove quickly back to my apartment I went over a shopping list in my head and decided to enlist Edward's help at the grocery store. Just thinking about Edward made my stomach shiver. Jeez, I was a mess.

When I got back home Edward was waiting for me. He hadn't come outside to help me carry in the clothing because he was still half-naked. As soon as I stepped in the door of the apartment, he swept me off of my feet and dipped me into a backbend, finishing the dance with a kiss. I quickly dropped the shopping bags and kissed him back, wrapping my hands around his neck.

He laughed and picked up the clothing before picking up the bags and walking to his bedroom. "Edward!" I called, "Some of the stuff in there is mine, you know!"

"Oh," his voice floated back to me through the door, "I was wondering what to do with some of these shirts." He was obviously joking.

I laughed. When he was decent he came out of his room, and we went out for a bit of joint grocery shopping. At the Fairway we bought most of the supplies that we would need for the week, and went to other places to get some of the specifics. For instance, we went to Whole Foods for some of the more exotic products. And the car time in between each store was fascinating. We had taken his car, because I didn't have one, and thus he got to drive. I had to give him directions and try to talk to him at the same time. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't stop ogling him. It was like the first day all over again.


	39. Chapter 39

Hello guys, sorry about the wait. But don't worry, this is where it gets interesting again!

There has been some discrepancy about Tanya's eye color, and it's always brown, just for the record. Thanks!

**Disclaimer: This belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and I don't want any money for it**

However, some reviews would be nice…

**Chapter Thirty-nine**

**BPOV**

At around three o'clock I told Edward to make himself comfortable, do work, homework, call his parents, walk about the city, whatever he wanted, for an hour. I told him I'd be back at four. I was going to the gym.

I took the subway and exercised for about an hour. I usually went in the morning, before showering, but with Edward at home that day. I didn't have time to go in the morning. I should have.

As I exited the gym, I dug around in my purse for my Metrocard. I was looking and not finding anything when suddenly I felt a hand around my waist, and another covering my mouth. It was Charlie, I couldn't scream…he would hit me…I cleared my head quickly. Of course it wasn't Charlie! He was in Forks! He didn't know where I was! I threw my purse from myself, hoping that my attacker would go after that and I could run away. But he or she only laughed.

My attacker was a man, I could tell by the laugh. I bit down on his hand. "Help! Help!" I screamed in the second that he drew back. Then his hand was on my mouth again, that this time it also covered my nose. I couldn't breathe.

I started scratching at his hand. "Don't do that, pretty Bella."

I froze. It had been four years. But I could still recognize that voice anywhere. It _was_ Charlie. How had he found me? Had he been following me today? Why did he know that I was in New York.

He chuckled again. "Oh Bella, such a naïve little girl. You thought that I wouldn't find you? Oh, but Bella, I have resources that you would never dream of. But that doesn't matter now. Now what matters is that you keep silent, can you do that?"

I nodded furiously, if only he would let me breathe! "Such a good, obedient girl." He lifted his hand from my mouth, I gasped for breath. Quickly after that, he grabbed my right hand, and led me away from the street. It turned out that there was an alley next to the gym.

'How convenient.' I thought dryly. I walked quietly with him. I wouldn't resist. Maybe if I was good, he wouldn't kill me. He pressed me up against himself; I could feel his raging erection and his gun, side by side. I walked slowly, praying that somebody would see us. But my prayers were not answered. We made it to the alley without any interference. "You are an evil, evil man." I whispered to my father.

"Oh, I know." He said lightly, as if it were nothing. He pushed me up against the wall, and ground his hips against mine. He moaned. "I'd forgotten how nice you feel, Bella."

A thought suddenly occurred to me; "Have you been raping other women while I've been gone?" I was horrified.

He grinned at me.

I gasped. He pinched my breast, and I gasped again, this time with pain. "Now," he said, "to make sure that you don't make a sound, I'm going to gag you." He stuffed a piece of cloth into my mouth.

**Rape begins here**

He then took a pair of scissors and started to cut off my shirt. He ripped it the rest of the way, and then sheared off my pants. He cut off my underwear, and then undid his own pants and pulled out his penis. My eyes got wide. I didn't want this, my body was aching to fight back, but I knew that I wouldn't. I only prayed that I wouldn't get pregnant from my own father.

A few tears leaked from my eyes, I was punched in the stomach for each one. He frowned when my hands came up to protect myself. He forced them down and beat me all over with his baton until I was sure that I was bloody. I didn't make one move to defend myself after that. He shoved himself into me, groaning. "Mmm, you're so lovely." He said into my ear.

He pounded into me until he came then he turned me around and pressed my breasts against the cold brick wall I whimpered, but it was not heard, due to the gag in my mouth. I shivered, naked and cold, in June. He beat my back, and I felt my knees beginning to crumble from the extent of the pain. Then he turned me around, knocked my knees out from under me, and ripped the gag out of my mouth. I still didn't make a sound, though my breasts, hips, and back were bleeding from scratches made on the bricks, my knees were bleeding, and my legs were sore. He punched me on my jaw, surely leaving a bruise, and then on the other side of my jaw. He slapped me until my ears were ringing. Then he kicked me in my stomach, I gasped with the pain, and doubled over.

He started his attack on me again, for protecting myself, until again I was numb and sure that I had no blood left. Then he stood me on my knees once more and made me pleasure him with my tongue and teeth. He came twice there as well; gagging me both times and making me swallow his semen.

Charlie pulled out his handcuffs. He cuffed one to my left wrist and shoved that arm behind my back. He dragged me over to a bike rack in that alley, scraping me against the stony asphalt; aggravating and stretching open the gashes that he'd made on me. He cuffed both hands behind my back and around the side of the bike rack.

Then he kissed me on the lips, biting each lip several times. Then, he retrieved the baton and beat me with it again, this time not neglecting my face.

I didn't see when he got the knife. I was too far gone, but I did feel the pain when it cut into my skin. He left fatal gashes down each arm, along the veins there, and cut the same type of lines down each leg. Finally, to add insult to injury, he carved a large heart across my stomach and breasts, and put some words inside. It said: 'C and B Forever'

**Ends here**

"Hey!? Hello?" I heard a familiar voice.

He ran off quickly, and took off in his car.

I knew death was coming.

I knew that I didn't have much time left.

I leaned my head against the bike rack, and closed my eyes for the last time.

I knew I had died and gone to heaven when I heard the voice of an angel. "Bella? Oh my God." There were rushed footfalls, and then somebody was touching me. This couldn't be heaven, could it? There was too much pain for that. "Bella? Is it really you? God, who did this to you?" Hands were fluttering around me.

I felt so heavy, I was so tired. "Bella? Are you breathing? Wait…Bella? Oh my God." Something was pressed to my neck, I wanted to tell him that I was fine…but I couldn't.

"Oh God." Why did he keep saying that?

I heard some beeping; I was too fuzzy to figure out that it was a cell phone. "My girlfriend is bleeding to death in the alley on West 47th, between –" I didn't catch the rest. Something light landed on my face, two somethings, actually. I tried to reach up and feel them. They were wet and small – little drops of water; they carved tracks down my face as they succumbed to gravity. Another something joined the original two. I enjoyed the feeling. It was soft, it didn't hurt, and it was just a sensation that I'd never had before. Maybe this was the way it felt in heaven.

And then there was sharp pain on my abdomen. I wanted to scream, to tell the angel to cut it out, but I couldn't. I heard an oath, then a growl of anger. I wanted to apologize; I hadn't meant to get worked up. I was sorry. But I couldn't apologize. Then there was pressure on each wrist, one after the other. Then the double hurts went away. I heard a ripping sound, and then the hurts returned and stayed, both on my wrists, and abdomen. I wanted to tell him that it wasn't helping. But I couldn't.

Another wet-something fell onto me, this time onto my bleeding stomach, and then a fifth fell in the same place. I wanted to know what they were. "Bella," Edward whimpered. "Don't…you can't…I just got you back…don't leave me…"

I wanted to tell him that I wasn't really leaving; there was no heaven without him. But I couldn't.

In every story, even in my own story, the girl awakens when she hears the sound of her lover's voice, at the touch of her lover's kiss…but it doesn't always work like that. I wanted to wake, I wanted to tell Edward that I'd be alright, but no matter how much he begged me to, and he begged a lot, I couldn't.

Several wet-somethings fell on me, I lost count. And I was shocked when I felt some pressure on my lips.

Again, in the stories, I should have woken up. But I didn't, I was only shocked when I felt him kiss me. And in the stories, every hurt would be eased, every scar erased. But his lips on mine, his lips on the cuts and scabs that Charlie had bitten into me did no good. They only caused more hurt. I wanted to thank him, but tell him no thanks…but I couldn't.

I must have drifted away, because when I came back to the darkness I was being moved. It hurt, not as much as the original beating had…but not much better! I heard urgent voices. "It's stuttering! Get her in fast!"

"Paddles!"

"Her heart's failing! Hurry!" said the first voice again.

I heard an animalistic cry of anguish. It was my angel again. I wanted to touch him, to comfort him, to give him some of those beautiful wet-somethings. But you know what I'm going to say.

A third rush-voice said, "Sir, you have to get in front."

"No." growled Edward.

"I'm sorry, sir, you aren't family!" said rush-voice three.

"No!" Shouted Edward, and I felt the jostle as he moved. Rush-voice three seemed to have given up because there were no more comments.

Rush-voices one and two were talking urgently to each other, and I heard something rubbing against one another. I got scared for a moment, my heart beat faster. "Hurry!" shouted rush-voice two. "Clear!" shouted rush-voice one. Then there was pain.

It was painful beyond belief. My heart sped, and then returned to the quick, shallow pace that it had been maintaining before. I heard Edward's intake of breath. "She's alright now, then?"

Nobody said anything.

I tried to answer, to say 'yes'. I had no such luck. I fell into the abyss once more.

I woke up to more jostling. "Four!" shouted an unfamiliar, female voice. Nobody answered, there was just faster jostling. I wanted to tell the rush-voices to stop moving me. It was hurting.

I heard some jogging next to me, there was the voice of my angel again. "You'll be fine, alright Bella? What he did to you, we can get over it. Really. You'll be better in no time. The doctors are going to stop the bleeding, and then you'll recover really fast. Right? There are no worries." His voice was uneven because he was running, but I could tell that he was reassuring himself more then he was trying to reassure me. I chose to say nothing, not even to try to say something, because if it slipped out, his hopes would be raised only for nothing.

The jostling stopped after a very short time. There was the sound of latex gloves snapping, then a sharp sting in the top of my arm. It didn't hurt as badly as the beating. None of this did. But it still hurt. But then nothing hurt. It was very fast, and soon I was asleep.

**Intense, right? Review and tell me if it was too much…thanks!**


	40. Chapter 40

Hello again! I think I'm back on track now for weekly updating! Life's back to normal, thank goodness, and I've got the rest of this story written and rearing to go!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot! **

So, there's a rather long quote in this one from New Moon, I think… or maybe Eclipse…well, if you can find it, sneak preview for you! Thanks to my reviewers as always! Enjoy!

**Chapter Forty**

**BPOV**

I woke up to a dark room. I moved my arms to stretch, I was terribly sore, but quickly froze when they screamed in pain. I screamed in pain then. Well, it wasn't really a scream. My throat and vocal cords were so groggy that I only managed a raspy squeak.

There was a quick movement on a neighboring bed. "Bella."

"Yes?" I rasped, I didn't want to talk…I was too tired.

"You're awake."

"Yes."

Edward cleared his throat. "Bella!" He walked quickly to my bed, there were no sounds, I was sure that he'd taken his shoes off.

"Edward."

He leaned over me. "Where doesn't it hurt?" he asked.

I quickly evaluated myself. "Probably the bottoms of my feet." I said. It was the only place that I could think of that wasn't throbbing or aching in pain.

Edward leaned over and kissed my right foot through the sheets. "I'm so glad that you're alright, Bella."

I tried to smile, but it hurt too much. I tried to open my eyes, for they had shut again, without my notice. I was too tired to try very hard, though, so I only said, "'night."

"Goodnight, Bella." He said.

Again, I woke to a dark room, but this time there were slivers of light leaking in through the window shades. I drew in a deep breath, but stopped when it made my ribs hurt. I held my breath for a second, but let it out slowly again a moment later. Again, Edward came immediately to my side. "How are you this morning, Bella?" He was already awake.

"Alright."

"Truly?"

"No."

He laughed, but it was strained. "I miss you, Bella. I hate it when you're asleep and I can't talk to you."

Another, feminine, high, sort of squeaky voice pitched in, "We all do! I'm so glad you're awake!" Something, a small dark shadow, shifted the bed. I groaned with the pain. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" She jumped, shifting the bed again. I let out a breath this time.

"Alice. Go sit down." Edward said, threatening.

It was Alice then. "It wasn't that bad." I said breathily, still recovering.

"I'm so sorry!" she said again.

"Don't strain yourself, Bella," ordered Edward. "Are you awake for good this time?"

I thought about it. I was still so tired. "I don't think so."

"Alright, then. Go back to sleep." He said gently.

"M'kay. Hey Alice." I wanted to greet her properly, without the pain.

"Hey, Bella." She said solemnly.

I went back to sleep.

The third time, everybody was there. I opened my eyes and the lights were on, they were too bright, I couldn't see anything. I gasped, and shut them again. "Bella?" somebody asked. It was another woman. The only one who would care about me and whose voice I wouldn't recognize was Esme.

"Esme." I said. "Can you turn off – the lights?"

"Of course, dear." But they were already off.

"I've got it, Esme." Said Rosalie.

"Rose!" I said, opening my eyes into the darkness. I saw her silhouette against the light from the window shades. Her hair was out of place, but her clothing was as perfect as always. "You're hair?" I said it as a question, expecting a response.

She laughed, "I was sleeping a second ago, just like you. Does it look really bad?"

I didn't try to nod my head, it hurt too much. "Yeah." I said. "Go and fix it."

"Are you sure?"

"'Course." She should look her best. That was part of _Rosalie_: she just wasn't herself without her perfection.

She walked out of the room.

"How are you, dear?" asked Esme.

"I'm recovering. I think I'll stay awake this time." I really did.

"Good." Said Edward. "You really are better, then, right?"

"Not yet." I remembered the parts where I had been saved, now realizing that I had been in an ambulance, and then rushed into surgery or something like that. I was probably in a private room at a hospital. I just didn't remember how I was so badly bruised. Why didn't I remember!?

I thought back to what I had been doing. I had been in the gym, gotten out, almost gone to the subway, and then Charlie came up behind me…Oh. I remembered then.

I gasped, "What's wrong?" asked Edward frantically.

"I remember." I said.

Edward must have looked confused.

"Mm, I thought something like this would happen." A male voice, it wasn't Edward's. I got scared. My heart rate climbed when this man stood. It was an adult male, I would guess late forties, maybe fifties. Just like Charlie. Was it one of his friends? Did he know Charlie?

The man moved closer to me. "Did you _just_ remember?" asked the male.

I couldn't answer. "Bella?" His hand reached toward me.

I was frozen…I couldn't move…I couldn't speak, I was terrified. "Don't." I managed to choke out. "Don't touch me." I whispered.

Somebody was moving fast toward me. A hand came out of nowhere and knocked the hand of my attacker away. "Stop it. She told you to move away."

"I'm sorry, Bella." Said the male. "I wasn't thinking."

"That's alright, Dad, nobody blames you." Said the voice of another man. How many _were_ there?! Rosalie breezed back into the room.

I called her over to me, and she came, bringing a chair. "Is my hair better now?" she asked, oblivious to the mini-crisis that had just occurred.

That was just what I needed. "Yeah. It's much better."

"Yes." Said the second strange-man. He came over too. I froze. They needed to leave. All of them.

"Get out." I said. Nobody heard me. I said it louder. "Get out."

"What?" said Edward.

"Get out." It was a little bit louder still.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I closed my eyes. They all filed out of the room, all but Edward, who gave me one last glance before getting up and heading out of the room. My muscles then relaxed. I thought back to the events of my attack. I skipped the actual attack, and just went over the time after. Edward had come, and said 'God' a lot. He had put pressure on me. Now that I thought about it, he had probably tried to bind my wounds with something. I thought back to the ripping cloth. What would he have had with him? His shirt? That must have been it.

Then, the wet-somethings. What were they? I couldn't figure it out. The pain and the rush-voices. What had that been? Oh, they _had_ said 'clear'. I supposed that it was one of those shock-paddle things that you see in movies all the time. Wow, no wonder it had hurt. The pain later, in the room; that must have been a needle with some sort of anesthesia inside. I fell asleep pondering the mystery of the wet-somethings.

The fourth time I woke up; it was again to bright light. But this time I didn't ask for it to be dimmed. There seemed to be nobody in the room. I was confused. Edward had always been there. I thought back to when I had ordered them all out. Had he been offended? Oh goodness, I'm sure they all had been offended. My stomach sank through my feet – the only part of me that wasn't in pain – I started crying. I was gasping for little breaths of air, tears streaming down my face. I had lost them all. Two stupid words, and now nobody wanted to be around me anymore.

They probably hadn't wanted to be around me in the first place, but were just being nice. I mean, after all, they all knew that I had been raped and beaten by my father. It wasn't just Rose and Edward now. They all probably thought that I was some sort of whore, seducing my own father. Gosh, I _was_ a whore. Could my life get any worse?

I was making little whimpering noises. Nobody came to check if I was awake, nobody wanted to know if I was alright, but I deserved it. I was such a whore. An ungrateful whore. Just like Charlie had said, all those times. I didn't deserve friends, it was good for them that they'd stay away from me, I was worthless, useless, a burden, a slut, a whore, a stupid ass cunt, an incestual bitch, an ungrateful skank, how else could I describe myself…a ungrateful vixen – a

The door burst open. "Bella! Stop it!" Rosalie and Edward came charging into the room.

"Don't." I said, "Stay away. You shouldn't be here. Go!" I didn't want to carry them along for my ride into insanity.

"Of course I should! When my friend starts calling herself an incestual bitch, that's my cue to get onstage." Said Rosalie. "Besides, you're not."

"But I'm worthless. Ungrateful…a whore."

"Stop it!" said Edward harshly.

I didn't say anything. Instinct told me to stay quiet and freeze, maybe Charlie would make the punishment simple. "Edward, you stupid. Don't yell."

"I'm stupid too." I said.

"Really, Bella, I'm not going to yell, but if you don't stop, I'll call a nurse to sedate you." Rosalie looked rather annoyed.

"But I fucked my father." I said. "Over the years…let's say five times a week since I was sixteen…minus three and a half months…that's roughly four hundred and fifty times."

Edward and Rosalie looked shocked. Completely flabbergasted, totally caught unawares, unable to speak. I took a vindictive pleasure in watching them squirm. "I fucked my father almost five hundred times. It's a miracle that I didn't get pregnant. Actually, I probably am." I said. "What're the chance? I doubt that he used a condom. He never did. The Pill" I mused. "…from now on I will be on The Pill. How does that sound? Where's my doctor? Why haven't I seen him? I've got to ask him for a prescription." The tears were still flowing freely down my face, and I had no hands to wipe them with. They were running into my ears, and down my cheeks.

"Bella?" said Rosalie tentatively. "We don't judge you. You know that, right? We still want to be your friends."

"Of course you do. Who wouldn't want to be friends with me?" I said it sarcastically. "The Father Fucker. Cool name, huh? That'll be my nickname, alright? You can call me that if you want. I deserve it." It was true.

"No! Bella! No you don't! You aren't the…you can't call yourself awful names like that. Call Charlie names, _he_ deserves it, not you." He looked hurt, physically hurt.

I laughed callously, "You can't even say it. Father Fucker." I laughed again. "I'll bet you can't say it." The tears were still coming.

"Bella." Edward warned softly, "Please don't make me call a nurse to sedate you!"

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" I screamed at him, unable to do anything else.

"That's right, sweetheart," said Rosalie softly, "Just let it out, scream it out."

"Bella." Edward begged.

"I HATE YOU!!!" I shouted. Then I collapsed into sobbing once more. The door burst open, a woman in white walked in.

"Sweetheart, are you overwrought? Would you like to sleep some more?" She asked in a motherly way.

"No." I turned to Edward, "You called her. Traitor."

"I didn't! I swear! How could I have, I'm standing here! You're closest to the call button. Her timing is just eerily coincidental."

"How _could_ you! Don't lie to me! _He_ lied to me, did you know? _He's_ been lying to me all this time. He said he loved me, that I was lovely. Bastard, he ruined my life!" I turned to the nurse. "Get out. I don't want to sleep."

"Unfortunately," her voice turned steely. "You are disturbing other patients and if you don't quiet down I'll have to sedate you."

"Oh shut up." I said to her, "I don't even care about other patients. Do they have doctors? Sedate _them_! I don't even have a fucking doctor. I'm in a hospital, but nobody, not even once, has asked my how I'm feeling." I was feeling insane, to tell you the truth? Do rape victims even go insane? I needed a shower. Or not. I could just stay dirty…a dirty whore.

"I'm sorry; it's just that he's come while you're sleeping. You've been asleep for quite a while."

"How can he evaluate properly, if I'm asleep?" I asked her.

"He's a professional, dearest. He can do a lot of things. Now, will you be quieter?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Thank you." She walked out.

I started muttering under my breath. Quickly, I was asleep again. She probably put sedatives in my blood anyway.

The fifth time I woke up, memories of the last time were filtering through my head. I'd had nightmares all that time. So I guess there weren't any sedatives involved. I yawned, and then closed my mouth; the bruises on my cheeks were making it hard to move. "Oh God." I said. "Edward. I'm so sorry."

"That's alright." He said, coming from behind the curtain. "I understand."

"Thanks. I –"

"You don't have to talk about it." He told me.

I smiled, grateful.

"But don't get mad at me for hanging around, okay?" Edward patted my foot, "Because I'm not giving up. I've got loads of time."

I sighed, "You shouldn't waste it on me," I said, though I wanted him to. Especially if he was willing to accept me the way I was – damaged goods, as is.

"It's what I want to do, as long as you still like to be with me."

"I can't imagine how I could _not_ like being with you," I told him honestly.

Edward beamed.

Review! Tell me what you thought! I particularly like this chapter…


	41. Chapter 41

Hello All, another chapter is here! And it's been less than a month! Are you proud of me? Ugh, sorry again for being so late on you!

Thanks again to all reviewers, they all make my day! Thanks so much! And congratulations to **tigger5600** who found the quote! It was:

"_You don't have to talk about it." He told me. _

_I smiled, grateful._

"_But don't get mad at me for hanging around, okay?" Edward patted my foot, "Because I'm not giving up. I've got loads of time."_

_I sighed, "You shouldn't waste it on me," I said, though I wanted him to. Especially if he was willing to accept me the way I was – damaged goods, as is. _

"_It's what I want to do, as long as you still like to be with me."_

"_I can't imagine how I could not like being with you," I told him honestly. _

_Edward beamed. _

It's Bella and Jacob talking (so, yes, I switched names around), but I still couldn't find which book!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize!**

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Forty-one**

**EPOV**

When she got up that morning, I had no idea of the horrible things that were going to happen. We went shopping in the morning, after she bought me clothing, and we chatted and got to know each other again. She wasn't the shy, comforting, jittery Bella that I had fallen in love with, but she was a confident, hyper, laid back Bella that I loved just the same.

She left for the gym around three, and I was told to do what I wanted. I decided to snoop around the neighborhood. I explored bookstores, grocery stores, gyms (other than Bella's), agencies, Starbucks, city lights, and parks. I had a map of the entire neighborhood, almost, in my head when I realized that it was four-thirty, way past the time when Bella said she would be back. I hurried back home (oh, it felt good to call her apartment home) to make sure that she wouldn't worry about me.

But, as I arrived, I received no greeting, no kiss, no scolding for being late. I was confused for a moment, but searched through the apartment for Bella. I didn't find her. I called her cell phone number, it was on the refrigerator, but I got the message machine. I left an urgent message: _Bella, where are you? It's me, Edward, and I'm at home waiting for you. Call me at your apartment or on my cell when you get this message, I'm getting a little worried. _

At 4:45 she still hadn't called, I decided to go look for her. I went on her computer and searched for a feature that would give away her gym. Fortunately, I found a bookmark to the webpage, and got the address easily. I went in to the gym, and looked to see if she had come in. The man at the front desk confirmed that she had come in, and then had gone about half of an hour ago. I was worried again. It was nearing five, and I decided to go outside and look for her bike, though I was pretty sure that she had taken the subway.

I went back to the gym, through the back entrance, and found Bella's purse and gym bag lying on the asphalt. I picked them up. Why were they here? It was five now, she had checked out of the gym an hour ago. Why wasn't she there? I called the house using my cell phone, and left a message for her there. I decided to go around to the front of the gym again, and see if she had parked her bike there. I was getting more worried by the second. I took a shortcut through a thin alley way. There was a man there, bending over what seemed to be a bleeding woman. "Hey?! Hello?" The man glanced up and quickly took off.

I ran over to see if the woman was alright. "Bella? Oh my God."

It was her, lying on the ground, propped up with something, her arms above her head. Had she tripped and passed out? Had she been lying here for an hour? Was she alright? Was she still breathing? I ran closer to her, and then realized that she was naked and bloody. She was only wearing shoes and socks, the rest of her clothing seemed to have disappeared, and she was shackled to a bicycle rack. Oh no. Not my Bella. Not this again! She didn't deserve this! I felt angry tears coming to my eyes, and I shrugged them away. Surely she was dead. Nobody could bleed that much and still be alive!

"Bella? Is it really you? God, who did this to you?" I was so scared for her, I didn't know what to do, and I lost all my medical training in a second. I didn't remember any of it. I would be a bad doctor. But I didn't care at the moment.

"Bella? Are you breathing? Wait…Bella? Oh my God." I felt for a pulse, and it was shallow. So shallow…she was barely alive. But at least she was alive.

"Oh God." I had to do something! But _what_! Oh! 911! Of course!

I described the emergency and location to them quickly. I kept my hand on Bella's neck, I felt as her pulse started to slip away. The tears started to come. The EMTs would be too late. What could I do!?

Oh, the blood! Right! I could try to staunch some of the profuse bleeding. But I didn't have a bandage…or gauze! _Edward Cullen, are you a doctor or not! _ Shouted my brain. I quickly pulled off my shirt and ripped it into bandages to tie around her abdomen. It was only then that I noticed the shape of the knife wounds. "Fuck." I cursed the bastard that did this to her. It was a C and a B inside of a heart. I only knew of one person that twisted. Charlie Swan.

I hated him! Just when we'd found happiness, he had to go and take it away again! How did he find her!

The tears kept coming. I am a man, men don't cry. But I was sobbing over Bella's mangled body yet again. Her heart faltered. "Bella," I whimpered. "Don't…you can't…I just got you back…don't leave me…again." I leaned over, still crying, and kissed her on the lips. It always worked in the movies, why wouldn't it work for me!

I heard sirens in the distance. It was about damned time! They got her onto a gurney quickly, after snipping the handcuffs off of the bicycle rack with bolt cutters. They hooked her up to a heart monitor immediately. I didn't hear anything but the man shouting, "Her heart's failing! Hurry!"

Then, the driver tried to get me to go in the front seat. But I refused. I wouldn't be in the front when Bella could be dying! He eventually gave up, knowing that I wouldn't be swayed. I climbed in with Bella.

"Hurry!" shouted one man.

"Clear!" shouted another.

They shocked Bella with the paddles. I groaned with real pain when I saw her body jerk because of the electricity. But then her heart regained a more regular, if not normal, rhythm. "She's alright now, then?"

Nobody said anything.

They hooked her up to a beeping heart monitor, and I watched her heartbeat slowly fail throughout the ride to the hospital. Why wouldn't those damned drivers pull over faster! This was an ambulance! Her heart stuttered once more. I looked into her beaten face and tried to see something that would give me hope, but she remained completely still. She was about to die, I could feel it. "Bella." I said, "Don't die. I promise that I'll never leave your side again. I'll hunt your father down and kill him. I will, I promise, but you have to stay with me, alright?" The EMTs were politely averting their eyes, but I could tell they thought I was pursuing a lost cause.

Her heart stuttered again, it was getting slower. I was making bargains with God, 'I'll never yell at anybody again, I'll never hit anybody ever again, I'll finish medical school at the top of my class, I'll swear myself to a life of chastity and live as a monk if you just let her live! I'll –' we arrived at the hospital; the EMTs almost ran her through the ER doors.

"Van 313!" shouted one of the men at the reception desk. The answer was 'Room 4'. They wheeled Bella inside the room and there were already two doctors and two nurses, and a medical student inside. A student! I didn't want a student treating Bella! Who did they think she was? Some hobo on the street?

They told me that I couldn't stay with her in there. As a medical student myself, I understood that at least. But before I had to go, I talked to her a little, trying to reassure her that she would be fine, to give her the strength to carry on. But if I really looked deep into my heart I knew that I was just reassuring myself, because the verdict at this point was looking very grim.

A man patted me on the back as she was wheeled into Room 4, I took one last look at her naked, broken body and I went quickly into the observing room.

When the doctors peeled off their gloves and masks, I barreled into the room. "Will she be alright? Did you fix her?"

One of the doctors, an older man, said to me, "We're pretty sure that we've stopped the internal bleeding, and we sewed up all of her cuts. Her bones are splinted, et cetera, but we couldn't do anything about the heart without invasive surgery. So, we just have to hope that she'll recover on her own."

"You – you couldn't fix her?"

"Not without permission from her parents or herself. Unless…are you married to her?"

I shook my head sadly, "Just hopelessly devoted."

He smiled, "I'm sure she'll be fine, she just has to rest for a while. And when I say 'while' I mean it could be weeks before she even thinks about getting out of bed."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Don't thank me yet, but I've done all that I can." He grasped my shoulder quickly before walking out of the room.

I wanted to lie down with Bella, but I knew that it would just disturb her. I sat down in the only chair in the room to watch her. Hopefully she would wake up soon. When I drifted off around three in the morning, she was still completely unchanged. When I woke at seven she was still asleep. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the first number that I could think of. Alice.

She picked up on the last ring. "Edward?" she said sleepily. She turned away from the phone. "Hold on a second, Jasper. Edward, why are you calling so early?"

"It's Bella." I said almost tearfully.

"What? Did she turn you down? I find that hard to believe." She was rather surprised.

"No, Alice, she's in the hospital. She was raped and beaten almost to death; I found her in an alley and brought her here."

I heard her shocked gasp. "Is she alright? What possessed her to go out this late at night?"

"I think it happened around four." I said, "I found her a little more than an hour later. She's been completely still and silent for twelve hours. Her heart is failing. Where are you?" I said. I needed the moral support from my twin.

"I'm already on my way. We're at a hotel downtown."

I heard some shuffling, Jasper came into the room and asked, "What's wrong, Ali?"

"I'll see you in half an hour, Edward." She said hurriedly, and hung up. Half an hour later, true to her word, Alice rushed into the room. I don't know how they let her in, but she barreled into the room. Jasper had to stay out, it wasn't visiting hours yet. She made a beeline for me. "Oh Edward. I'm so sorry that this had to happen!" She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. "Has she been like this for the whole time?" she asked, gesturing toward Bella, lying motionless on her bed.

I nodded grimly. "Edward," she said sternly, "Have you slept at all? You look like the –." I could tell that she was about to say 'dead'. I was grateful that she didn't.

"I slept last night."

"For how long?"

"Maybe four hours. I wasn't really keeping track of time." I told her.

"Edward, there's a huge black and red digital clock right above her head." Alice said disapprovingly.

"Oh. Really?" I said it truthfully; I hadn't been paying attention to anything but Bella and the mostly constant beeping that came with her.

"Edward, you're a mess, come back to my hotel, get some rest. If she wakes up, there are plenty of people who want to be with her. I'll stick around if you want."

"No." I said.

"Edward." She said it like Mom had when she was scolding. It threw me off guard for a moment, but I recovered myself.

"No, Alice. You can't make me. I need to be here, what if she…what if she…isn't here when I come back." I didn't want to say 'dies': that made it final.

"Edward, she'll be fine, the nurse told me she's recovering, she just needs to have a lot of rest, and her mind is protecting itself. Truly." Alice was reasoning with me, but I wasn't the important thing right now.

"Alice, look at her. Does she look like she's going to last the night?" Bella was hooked up to several different monitors, and had an IV attached to her wrist. There were tubes under her nose, and her body was covered with a blanket up to her chin, but we could see the outlines of several other devices affixed to her.

"Edward, she _did_ last the night. They always say that the first is the hardest. She'll recover. I know she will."

"Even so." She knew that the rest of the sentence was going to be, 'I won't leave her'. So I didn't even bother saying it.

"Fine, Edward, I'm staying with you. I'll ask for some beds in here. I've told them that I'm Bella's cousin, by the way, so don't blow my cover." She pressed the call button. Two more empty and impeccably made beds were wheeled into the room. I fell asleep very quickly.

I woke up again around eight. I was lying on my bed, looking at the ceiling for a moment before I realized what had woken me up. Bella had made a noise. It was the first thing I'd seen or heard her do for more than twenty four hours. Alice was nowhere. I sat up. "Bella." I said.

"Yes?" Her voice was slurred and raspy, as if she'd been swallowing salt water and was slightly drunk.

"You're awake." I said, astounded.

"Yes." She didn't seem to want to say more.

I cleared the sleep from my body and stood quickly. "Bella!" I nearly ran to her bed. It was dark, I could hardly see, but I made it.

"Edward." She said. I sighed with relief that she was alright.

I leaned over her. "Where doesn't it hurt?" I wanted to kiss her, but her face and neck were too bruised to even think about touching her there.

She paused for a moment. "Probably the bottoms of my feet." It was slightly sarcastic, but truthful. That's my Bella, trying to be light even when she couldn't move because of the extreme pain in her body.

I kissed her feet. "I'm so glad that you're alright, Bella."

Her eyes were shut again, I didn't expect a response, but she did say "'night."

"Goodnight, Bella." I sighed with relief. She really _was_ going to recover.

* * *

Review! Please! Tell me what you thought!


	42. Chapter 42

Hello All!

Sorry. I know it's not good enough, and you've probably forgotten everything about this story! Sorry! To be honest, I have lost interest in Twilight Fanfiction writing. I have, however, finished this fic, and will post it all now. Thanks for your support over the years, and thanks for being the amazing, wonderful, readers that you are with incredible, amazing, reviews and support and love! Thank you! I cannot say that enough!

**Quick Recap:**

Bella is abused by Charlie, Rosalie is her best friend, and the two of them quickly become close to Alice, Edward's sister, after she, and her brothers Emmett and Edward move into the house next door. Edward sees Bella being hurt by Charlie one evening, and he helps her recover. They pass notes in class, and Bella is invited by Edward/Alice to visit their home. There, Bella meets Esme, their mother. Bella asks Edward to spend an afternoon with her.

They go on a "date," and Edward ends up freaking Bella out. She runs from him, and the next day, he avoids her. Then, he is watching Bella's window, hoping to see her, and he sees Charlie push her down the stairs. Edward, with the help of his doctor/father Carlisle, race next door and they convince Charlie to let them take her to the hospital. Bella recovers in the hospital for a month. She and Edward are inseparable.

Bella and Edward begin to arrange more "dates," during which Bella opens her window, and Edward enters through it. They talk about everything and anything. Edward helps her with her chores. They become closer. They stay together, despite Bella's constant efforts to shut Edward out after Charlie beats her, throughout the year and the summer, until Bella's eighteenth birthday.

The night before Bella leaves, Edward tells her that he loves her. Bella freaks, and leaves without saying goodbye, she leaves a false trail for him to follow, so that he won't find her. In her mind, love means hurt. Bella drives to New York on her motorcycle and lives there for four years without Edward. Edward attends college. They both pine for each other.

Bella attends Edward's college graduation, meaning to slip away before he sees her. He sees her. They make up, they cry a little, but then Edward gets a little too touchy-feely, and Bella is off running again. Edward follows Bella in his car back to her apartment in New York. Bella comes to her senses, and they make up.

Then, the next day, Bella goes to the gym, alone. Charlie has found her. He beats and tortures her in a alleyway. Edward finds her broken and bleeding, and she is rushed to the emergency room. She awakens in Chapter 40. We are now in Chapter 42.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, and I'm not getting monetary compensation. I only receive the happiness that any writer gets when readers appreciate his/her work!**

Happy Reading, Everyone!

**Chapter Forty-two**

**EPOV**

That day, I was much happier, much better rested. Alice had returned and I told her that Bella had woken. Her spirits lifted as well. Since it was visiting hours, Jasper was allowed into the room as well. We chatted happily for an hour or so with the lights off for Bella's eyes, and Alice made the decision to call our parents, and Rosalie. I agreed. The people who cared for Bella should be around her in this time of need. Visiting hours were over faster than I realized, I tried to convince Alice to go back to her hotel with Jasper, or at least go out for lunch, but she refused.

Bella woke up again as I was trying to push her out, she needed rest as much as I did. And now that Bella was alright, I would be too. Now I had to take care of my twin.

It was when the heart monitor paused for a second that I looked around at Bella. I went to her side immediately. The monitor started again as normal. It seemed as if she was taking a deep breath.

"How are you this morning, Bella?"

"Alright." She said. She sounded much better.

"Truly?" I would be eternally grateful.

"No." Of course not, what had I been thinking?

I laughed, for her benefit, but it was too hard to actually put on a happy face. "I miss you, Bella. I hate it when you're asleep and I can't talk to you."

Alice said, "We all do! I'm so glad you're awake!" She bounced over, and before I could stop her, she sat on Bella's bed. Bella groaned in pain. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" She quickly stood up. Bella breathed out, the way women do when they give birth.

"Alice. Go sit down." I didn't want her anywhere near Bella.

"It wasn't that bad." I could tell that she was lying through her teeth, so could Alice.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Don't strain yourself, Bella. Are you awake for good this time?" I wanted her completely healed.

"I don't think so." She said, after a pause.

"Alright, then. Go back to sleep." It was simple enough for me to say that, even though every cell in my body wanted her to be awake.

"M'kay. Hey Alice." Her voice was slurred again.

"Hey, Bella." She said solemnly.

Alice opened her mouth to say more, but Bella was already asleep.

Alice went home then, she was sure that Bella wouldn't wake up again for the rest of the day. She came back the next day during visiting hours with the entire Cullen clan. We were silent for a while, but Emmett quickly produced his deck of cards, and a massive game of poker was started. Only I wasn't playing. I was sitting on the chair, watching Bella breathe.

My dad and Alice were sitting on my bed, while my mom and Emmett sat on plastic chairs around a mini table where the cards were being dealt by Japer. Rosalie was sleeping behind Carlisle, on my bed; she had just taken a plane from Florida to be here. Emmett had gone to sleep on the plane, she hadn't. Bella's breathing didn't change when she woke up this come, so I didn't notice it. She opened her eyes infinitesimally and then closed them quickly with a gasp. Then I looked at her face. I realized she was awake. So did Esme, the person closest to her.

"Bella?" she asked. Rosalie's head popped up.

Bella recognized my mother's voice. "Esme. Can you turn off – the lights?"

"Of course, dear." Rosalie was already darting toward the door, and had flicked off the lights.

"I've got it, Esme." She said quickly.

"Rose!" she said, excitedly. It was the first real emotion that I'd heard from her other than pain. "Your hair?"

Rosalie laughed, she was better a faking cheer than I was, "I was sleeping a second ago, just like you, does it look really bad?"

"Yeah. Go and fix it."

Rosalie seemed to be deciding whether or not to leave her. "Are you sure?"

"'Course." Bella said it like she couldn't see the reason for Rosalie's doubt. Rosalie left.

"How are you, dear?" asked my mother.

"I'm recovering. I think I'll stay awake this time." Her voice was stronger than it had been. The three days in bed seemed to do her some good.

"Good." I told her. "You really are better, then, right?"

"Not yet." She trailed off into silence, and then gasped.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hands fluttering, trying to help.

"I remember." She said.

I didn't know what to say.

"Mm, I thought something like this would happen." My father stood and walked toward Bella. "Did you _just_ remember?" he asked.

Bella seemed to have frozen. "Bella?" My father reached toward her. I suddenly understood what was going on. She was terrified of him, he was an older male, and of course she would be terrified. That was the main thing they'd told us about rape victims.

I moved to push my father away. "Don't." said Bella in a strangled voice. We all froze. "Don't touch me." It was whispered.

I knocked my father's hand away from Bella's face. "Stop it. She told you to move away."

"I'm sorry, Bella." He looked completely taken aback. "I wasn't thinking."

"That's alright, Dad, nobody blames you." Emmett told him. Was he crazy! Let's just let Bella talk to all of the men. Goodness.

Thankfully, Rosalie walked back into the room then, providing a much needed distraction. She brought a chair to Bella's side. "Is my hair better now?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's much better."

"Yes." Said Emmett, it was obviously meant to make Rosalie feel good about herself, but the tone in which he said it was much too provocative for me. And for Bella too, apparently.

"Get out."

"What?" I asked her.

"Get out." She was nearly raising her voice at us.

"Are you sure?" I didn't want to leave her alone to her nightmares and pain.

"Yes." She closed her eyes. We all left, leaving the cards, the chairs, the table, and everything else. Rosalie looked slightly confused as I confronted them all in the hallway.

"You are all such idiots!" I yelled, hoping that Bella wouldn't hear me. "She just got brutally raped and beaten and you try to touch her? And that tone, Emmett, what do you think she thought of that?" I was sure that I was turning red.

"I'm so sorry, man. I forgot." Said Emmett.

"Sorry doesn't cut it."

Rosalie touched her boyfriend's hand, and then walked over to me. "He wasn't thinking, we all know that Emmett lost his brain as a baby, Edward. Let's do something like this: How about you all leave, Edward and I will stay and watch Bella. Alright? She doesn't seem to have objections to us." She didn't even look at me as she made this decision. The others nodded, I locked eyes with Alice quickly, and she knew that she would need to be on call, just like any doctor. She nodded slightly, as she left the hospital.

Bella slept another twenty-four hours before waking again. Rosalie and I were outside talking, because Bella hadn't moved from the room where she had been treated, there was still an observation room just next to hers. Rosalie and I spent most of our time in there; we didn't want Bella to be scared of us when she woke. The doctors and nurses would observe her from here as well, as not to scare her.

We didn't notice right away when Bella woke up. We couldn't hear perfectly, so we didn't hear when she started crying either. We did hear when she started talking, though, Rosalie and I both became completely silent. We could barely hear her, we doubted that she knew she was talking. "–rden, slut, whore, stupid ass cunt, incestual bitch,"

Rosalie and I looked at each other and ran for the door. I got there first, and held it open for Rosalie to dart through. We rounded the sharp corner and ran into Bella's room.

"Bella! Stop it!" Rosalie shouted. I got a closer look at her, her cheeks were stained with moisture, and the wetness was running down her face, soaking her pillow. She was muttering to herself, but looked startled when we came in.

"Don't." She said, "Stay away. You shouldn't be here. Go!" Was she still scared?

Apparently she was not, because Rosalie walked toward her. "Of course I should! When my friend starts calling herself an incestual bitch, that's my cue to get onstage. Besides, you're not."

"But I'm worthless. Ungrateful…a whore."

"Stop it!" I said harshly. I couldn't hear any more of this. She was making me lose my mind.

She froze, and Rosalie turned to me. "Edward, you stupid. Don't yell."

"I'm stupid too." She said. Maybe it was to make me feel better, maybe it was just part of her ramblings, maybe she was responding to what Rosalie was saying.

"Really, Bella, I'm not going to yell, but if you don't stop, I'll call a nurse to sedate you." Rosalie was getting just as annoyed as I was, I could tell, but she handled it better.

"Bella?" Rosalie was very soft and hesitant with her voice, she looked close to tears as well. "We don't judge you. You know that, right? We still want to be your friends."

"Of course you do. Who wouldn't want to be friends with me?" She was sarcastic, she didn't believe that we wanted to be with her anymore? I could live _without_ her! "The Father Fucker. Cool name, huh? That'll be my nickname, alright? You can call me that if you want. I deserve it."

"No! Bella! No you don't! You aren't the…you can't call yourself awful names like that. Call Charlie names, he deserves it, not you." I was in pain, listening to her degrade herself like she was doing, was absolutely killing me.

"But I fucked my father. Over the years…let's say five times a week since I was sixteen…minus three and a half months…that's roughly four hundred and fifty times. I fucked my father almost five hundred times. It's a miracle that I didn't get pregnant. Actually, I probably am. What're the chances? I doubt that he used a condom. He never did. The Pill…from now on I will be on The Pill. How does that sound? Where's my doctor? Why haven't I seen him? I've got to ask him for a prescription." Her tears were still coming, they hadn't stopped, was she losing her mind? Could you test for this? I didn't want to lose her _again_!

She laughed, another sign of madness? "You can't even say it. Father Fucker." She kept laughing, but she was still crying. "I'll bet you can't say it."

"Bella." I begged her softly, "Please don't make me call a nurse to sedate you!"

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" She screamed.

"That's right, sweetheart," said Rosalie softly, "Just let it out, scream it out."

"Bella." Did she really hate me? Was I hovering? Did she want me to leave?

"I HATE YOU!"

A nurse came in. "Sweetheart, are you overwrought? Would you like to sleep some more?"

"No." She looked at me, "You called her. Traitor."

"I didn't! I swear! How could I have, I'm standing here! You're closest to the call button. Her timing is just eerily coincidental." I didn't want Bella to blame me, I had threatened, but I wouldn't actually sedate her, that thought was terrifying to me.

"How _could_ you! Don't lie to me! _He_ lied to me, did you know? _He's_ been lying to me all this time. He said he loved me, that I was lovely. Bastard, he ruined my life!" She was talking about Charlie, I hope. "Get out. I don't want to sleep."

"Unfortunately, you are disturbing other patients and if you don't quiet down I'll have to sedate you." I could tell that it was her intention to make Bella fall asleep no matter what.

"Oh shut up. I don't even care about other patients. Do they have doctors? Sedate _them_! I don't even have a fucking doctor. I'm in a hospital, but nobody, not even once, has asked my how I'm feeling." I had, Esme had, but apparently we didn't count.

"I'm sorry; it's just that he's come while you're sleeping. You've been asleep for quite a while." Lied the nurse.

"How can he evaluate properly, if I'm asleep?" She said sharply.

"He's a professional, dearest. He can do a lot of things. Now, will you be quieter?"

"Yes, Madam." She said it like a petulant child, only saying that so she would get her way.

"Thank you." She walked out, I frowned.

Bella was mumbling to herself, spent from her yelling, before she went to bed.

The fifth time she woke up, she yawned, and I heard. I'd gone back to sleeping on the bed next to hers, Rosalie had gone home. I didn't want her to ever think I didn't want her, so I hadn't left her room since that night; I even used the hospital bathroom.

"Oh God." I heard. "Edward. I'm so sorry."

"That's alright. I understand." I had pulled the curtain around her bed in case she wanted privacy, but now I wanted to talk to her.

"Thanks. I –" She broke off.

"You don't have to talk about it." I didn't want her to strain herself. "But don't get mad at me for hanging around, okay?" Which part didn't hurt again? Oh, it was her foot, because her shoes had still been on when Charlie beat her. "Because I'm not giving up. I've got loads of time."

She sighed, "You shouldn't waste it on me," But she didn't really mean it, I could see in her eyes that she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

"It's what I want to do, as long as you still like to be with me."

"I can't imagine how I could _not_ like being with you," I couldn't wipe the grin off of my face.


	43. Chapter 43

There is one quote from Twilight in here, it's a little tough to spot. I can't promise anything if you find, but kudos, seeing as I'm posting all the chapters at once here. Happy Hunting!

**Chapter Forty-three**

**BPOV**

"Edward." I said, worriedly.

"Yes?"

"Do they all hate me now?" I was so sure that they would. "Look, I'm not going to go ape on you again, but I don't know if you realize how twisted my life actually is. I had sex with my father. It may not have been consensual, it may not have been love-making, but it was still sex. What are the chances that I'm carrying my own brother or sister. I can't handle that, Edward. I just _can't_. And I feel so _dirty_. I guess I just accepted rape as part of my life five years ago, but it's not anymore and Charlie's still _out_ there! He'll find me! He'll kill me! And you!" My eyes watered up again.

Edward bent down and kissed the tears out of the corners of my eyes. "Calm down, Bella. First of all, we all love you and want you to be safe and well. Second, there is no chance that you're carrying a child. I made sure that the doctors who treated you put contraceptive drugs into your IV. Third, you are not dirty at all. You're as clean as an angel. You _are_ an angel."

I smiled sadly. "Thanks for trying, Edward. At least it's a relief to know that I'm not pregnant. That would be awful."

He nodded. "Yeah, but we would have made it through."

I shook my head. "You're one of a kind, Edward Cullen."

"Maybe."

"Hey Edward? What would you have done if you had walked in on Charlie beating me?" I didn't know why I was asking such morbid questions. Maybe I just had to get it out of my system.

"I would have killed him." His voice was hard, there was no emotion, but I didn't for one second doubt the verity of his answer.

We just stared at each other for a moment. "Bella, can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer."

"Of course, Edward."

"What would you have done…if Charlie was raping _me_?" He said it quite sadly.

"I – I don't know." I wish that I could have guaranteed his death like Edward just had, but I couldn't, I was terrified of my father. The tears gathered again.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!"

"I'm not upset, don't worry. I'm just sorry that I wouldn't have the guts to save you. I wish I did." The wetness in my eyes spilled over…wetness? My brain started to make a connection.

"Oh Bella. Don't cry, please?" Edward looked worried.

"Edward? Do _you_ cry?"

He smiled sadly, "Only when you're involved, it seems."

"Were you crying when you found me?"

He wrinkled his brow, "Well, yes, actually. How did you know?"

"I felt them…the tears…I called them the wet-somethings. They were heavenly, Edward. I just wanted you to know that. When you were screaming, and crying, I wanted to give them to you, to comfort you." I smiled fondly at him.

"When I was _what_? Hold on, you were _awake_ for that?" He seemed surprised, I didn't blame him.

"Unfortunately."

"So, you heard everything, felt everything? Bella…did you feel it when they, when they shocked you?" He seemed appalled.

"Yes. I felt everything."

"I'm so sorry…if only I'd known!" He seemed distraught.

"Oh! No! This is not what I meant to happen; I meant to tell you that your tears were the most beautiful gift that you could have every given me. I love you so much." I smiled.

"If I could kiss you without hurting you, I would." He said, with so much love saturating his voice, I knew my feelings were reciprocated.

"You can, I think." I didn't want it to seem as if I was begging for a kiss, but I was.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I'm talking in more than just grunts now, aren't I?" I was about to say more, but his lips swooped down and captured mine in a passionate kiss. He ran his tongue around the outline of my mouth, it was a fiery kiss, but it wasn't too much, it didn't test my limits in the slightest, I didn't even think for one second about Charlie. It was only when I ran out of air that he pulled away. "Oh." I said softly.

"Are you alright?" He looked beautiful, his hair slightly mussed from bending over me, and his eyes slightly hooded with lust.

"Oh yes! Do that again!" I said. And he did. We kissed once more, this time he put his hands behind my head, cradling me in his arms as we kissed. Then he peppered my face and neck with little butterfly kisses, that barely felt like feathers on my skin. It didn't hurt at all. I was making little noises of pleasure; it only seemed to drive him forward. He inched back the blanket, moving his mouth to my shoulders, where he slipped off the paper gown.

He stopped at my shoulders, though, and that was good. I didn't want him to see the rest of my body until my bruises had healed at the very least. When he pulled up, put my clothing back and covered my again with the blanket I was hungry for more, but aware that it would only hurt. I was amazed that I was able to do that with him, I had thought that rape victims were wary of males, I mean, I was wary of males…except for Edward. I asked him rather breathily, "Why am I not scared of you?"

"I don't know." He said, also breathless, "I'm glad of it, though. I can't get enough of you. You are outstanding, you know, gorgeous, smart, loving, independent, caring, and beautiful…the list goes on and on! I'm sorry that we missed four years of our lives together."

"Me too." I sighed, it hurt my ribs and I winced.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." There was little beep. I didn't bother turning my head, Edward would inform me of what it was.

"Hmm." He said, "A nurse is coming. Your blood iron levels have apparently fallen below requirements."

"So, what? Am I anemic too?" I asked.

"Not really, they're just keeping extra special track, you lost so much blood, they gave you a few transfusions, I didn't like it – they put lots of needles into you. I know you hate needles." He looked at me again. He still had sex hair.

I smiled, "So what exactly is wrong with me?"

He blew out a breath of air. "I wish I could take your place, Bella. That you didn't have to suffer."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Well, you've broken one wrist, from hanging on that bike rack, and the same forearm. Your right arm, I think, not to mention the total of 37 stitches. Your legs and other arm seem to be unbroken, only badly bruised. You had awful whiplash, but that's probably gone, and three or four ribs are broken, but taped. Your left middle and ring fingers are broken, your face and jaw have considerable bruising, and your arms, legs, and stomach all have scars on them." His fists clenched when he said that, "The scraping of your" he cleared his throat, "breasts, back, and shoulder blades will make them sore, and sensitive, he was rough with you, Bella. You are so brave, so very brave."

"That's not so bad."

"Excuse me?"

"At least I'll be able to get out of bed in a few days, right?"

"Yes, I suppose."

"Actually, I think I could get up now. Have the doctors said anything about me getting up?"

"No. If you want to, I could support you."

"I want to try." I wanted to so badly that it hurt…or maybe I just hurt anyway.

Edward pulled back the blanket, thank goodness I was wearing this ridiculous gown. Edward helped me guide my legs over the edge of the bed. I sat up slowly, as to avoid a head rush. I was only slightly dizzy, not enough to make me lie back down. Edward put one hand on the small of my back, and the other grasped my hand. I slid off of the bed, and stood on my own two feet. It wasn't too bad.

I bent one knee, dull throbbing was the only pain that I had there, and I could deal with that. I took a small, stiff step, and collapsed. The searing fire in between my legs washed over me, Edward caught my head before it hit the ground, and I was gasping in pain. "God, Edward."

"What hurts?" He was frantic.

"In between…my legs." I resisted the urge to reach down and cup the sensitive flesh there. That would be thoroughly inappropriate.

"Can you stand?" Edward asked urgently.

"I…I don't know."

"Here," Edward grunted, picking up my body from the floor and cradling me. He placed me gently on the bed, off to the right a little, so he could lie with me. He stretched out beside me, I had my knees curled in a little, and he turned on his side to cuddle me.

"That hurts, Edward." He took his arms away.

Thank goodness that he had, because one second later, Carlisle and Esme walked in. Now that it was light, and I could see that it was Carlisle, I had no problem with him. He hung back anyway, respecting any possible fears that I may have had. "It's alright, Dr. Cullen, I've gotten over myself."

He smiled at me, "Oh, don't worry, I'm not offended, I just wouldn't want you to relapse. If I thought that you would object to my presence, I would not have come in here at all." His eyes grazed over the state of my body, I was lying on top of the blankets in a flimsy gown, right next to his son. "You look better, though, I've noticed."

"Oh yes, I feel much better. Perhaps I can try walking soon," I winced, "maybe next week."

Rosalie walked in then; it must have been visiting hours, "Hey Bella." She paused for a second when she saw us in the bed together, "I hope you haven't been exerting yourself _too_ much." The way she said it made me want to blush. Her eyes grazed over Edward's tense form next to me. "Nice sex hair, lover boy." But she winked, letting us know that she was kidding.

"Yeah, Rose, like I could do something like that in _this_ state."

Her eyes suddenly turned horrified, her body slouched, and she stuck her hands in her hair, as she did when she was stressed out. "Oh! I'm sorry, Bella! That was so heartless of me! I guess I'm just so used to talking like that!" she had a tortured expression.

"No big deal, Rosalie. That's not what I meant. Like I told Carlisle, I've gotten over myself." Thanks to Edward, lover boy himself.

"Oh, hey Carlisle, Esme…" her voice trailed off into embarrassment, she was usually the perfect, demure, prudish lady around Emmett's parents, I could tell.

"That was exciting," said Esme. She shook her head gently, "its fine, and we all need a little spice in our lives sometimes." She reached down and grasped my hands, they weren't too badly bruised, and it was only my wrists that hurt like hell. "How are you doing, Bella?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Well, good, now that you're awake and breathing, are there any things we can do for you to make your hospital stay easier?" She smiled at me.

"Actually," I told her, "It would be great if I could borrow somebody's cell phone. I've got to call the travel agency, tell them I'm in the hospital." Esme turned around, but Edward was already handing me his phone. "Thanks." I quickly made the call; Nancy asked if I was alright, but other than that, nothing interesting passed between us, I didn't think it was necessary to tell her why I was in the hospital.

I tried to walk again in a week, just as I'd predicted, and I succeeded, in another two weeks I was walking with out the help of a walker or Edward. I only used a cane. In another month most of my bones were healed, and my bruises had long since faded. The authorities were staking out my apartment building, and were looking for Charlie. I knew that they would find them, despite his carefully calculated plan to get me, he was a stupid man. And if he thought that he could get away with what he did, he was wrong. All of New York City was on the watch for him, and the police department in Forks had been notified.

I returned to my apartment as soon as the doctors said it was alright, and Edward returned with me. Rosalie stayed with me when Edward, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper took a day trip up to New Hampshire to get Edward's things out of his apartment. They helped him move in, because I couldn't. I was starting to get back into the rhythm of things, and was going back to the travel agency. The only police officer there was a plainclothes who rotated between sitting inside and outside with a newspaper or travel brochures. Edward was looking for a job as well, and we thought about ways to make our relationship work.

Obviously we would both be working part time and being students for the other parts of the time. Furthermore, we would be sleeping in two separate rooms for the time being, Edward's stipulation, and would not be going out alone, my stipulation, until Charlie was caught and jailed. I would be working full time after the end of this upcoming school year, and then I would be able to support us while Edward was a student full time. Carlisle had offered to pay Edward's medical school tuition.

I was in bed a lot, though I could walk and move about, I didn't want to. I felt like my life was ending, though it had just begun. I had everything now, Charlie was being hunted like a dog, Edward was living with me, and I had a job and was getting an education. I had nothing that I didn't want, and so much to be grateful for, but it just wasn't enough. I wanted more from the people around me. I wanted to talk about it; now my friends just skirted around that topic, and were falsely cheerful. I knew what went through their heads every time they saw my cane, _'she should have reported him sooner'_, or _'Aw, poor Bella'_. It was driving me nuts. So, I buried the cane at the bottom of my closet and didn't look at it anymore. But, as a result, I couldn't walk. I was confined to bed most of the time, Edward helped me walk places, and when I was taking a bath he would wait outside just in case I needed help. I felt so helpless, and worthless, I was such a burden on the man that I loved.

He claimed not to mind, and I'm sure that he didn't, but _I_ minded. I wanted us to be equal, but it wasn't happening. I wanted to be better right away. And I knew that my muscles would atrophy if I didn't use them, but I couldn't look at the cane. When Rosalie and Alice came over, I would ask Edward to help me move to the couch, so that I wouldn't appear so sedentary.

Now, I knew this wasn't possible, but I missed Edward. Despite the fact that he'd hovered over me constantly since the accident, I missed him. He didn't laugh as much, he wasn't as smiley, and he barely touched me. I wanted my Edward back. I wanted him to hug and kiss me, like he had in the hospital; I wanted him to come in and help wash me, instead of me just sitting in the tub like a dead woman. I wanted to be able to have sex with him, like we had the night before Charlie had come. Did he think that I loved him less? Did he think that I was incapable? Maybe I was 'traumatized'. But I wasn't, and I knew it. I could think about Charlie without hyperventilating, or think about what he did to me without breaking down. There was nothing wrong with me.

I thought that Edward thought I was unclean, and that he couldn't touch me. Or that he didn't want me to think he was like Charlie. But I wanted him to seduce me. I wanted him to do what he had done that first night. I wanted it all, but he wasn't willing to give it, and I was in no condition physically to initiate such things.

When he was out job hunting with Emmett, I lay on my bed and imagined Edward making love to me, or cried that he wasn't. When he came home, I would act like it was the pain that was making me angry and lethargic. Sometimes I raged at him for no reason, but that I was angry at myself. I shouldn't want it so badly, sex is bad. But my body sure didn't feel that way. I wanted Edward.

I called Rosalie and asked her. I knew she would be truthful, no matter how much pity she felt. "Get in bed without any clothes on, and then invite him in. That's what _I_ did."

"Oy Vey."

"Well, if that offends your sensibilities, I don't know why you called _me_!"

"True. I think I'll call Alice."

I did. "I dunno, why don't you just talk to him. Knowing Edward, he's just worried about you. He probably feels the same way, but feels guilty, because he thinks you'll be disgusted with him or in pain, but afraid to back down."

So, I tried both of their suggestions. After another two weeks, when I could walk without pain, I waited at home, alone, when he was at a job interview. I invited him onto my bed (though I was fully-clothed) when he came home and started a conversation. "How did it go?"

"It was great; I think I've got this one in the bag as well. I've just got to choose between this one and the job at the Center for Justice." He had been offered a desk job there.

"That's great."

"Thanks, I'm excited as well. Do you want to go out this week? I know that you can walk now, I've seen you, and I want to celebrate."

"Not really," I sighed, I was too chicken to bring it up; maybe I'd have to try Rosalie's advice.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I reached under my shirt and started tracing the scars that Charlie had left there.

"What's that? You do that a lot." He said.

"I don't know." I quickly pulled my shirt down. "There's nothing to see."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable, Bella, but can I have a look?"

"No." He hadn't seen the scars yet, they had been smeared in blood when he last saw my stomach. And I didn't want him to. "Let me give you a massage."

"No, I think you're trying to change the subject."

"I don't want you to see."

"Bella."

Well, if I was going to be taking my clothing off for him later, I may as well do it now. I pulled off my shirt. He gasped, "Bella! He did this to you?"

"Of course," I rolled my eyes, "who else?"

Edward bent and kissed the scars, then he worked his way up toward my mouth, I shifted, and took his lips on mine. It was a roundabout way, but it had accomplished what I wanted. He started to pull off the rest of my clothing when I got to thinking. This was literally pity sex. I didn't want this after all. "Stop." I said quietly. He did immediately.

"What's wrong."

"I wanted this before, Edward. But I don't anymore. This is fucking pity sex. Damn it! Nothing will ever be the same! And you're making love to me because my stomach says I love my father forever! This is so unfair!" I started crying.

"Bell, nothing I ever do for you will be out of pity. Everything it because I love you. Alice called me and told me what you asked her. I want to make love to you, but I didn't think that you wanted me to."

"Really?"

"Of course, Bella!" He kissed my tears away and pushed me back onto my bed again.


	44. Chapter 44

Hello all,

**Please be warned! There is self-harm in this chapter. If you don't like it, don't read it. You will be fine if you simply skip to the next chapter. You won't miss much. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters here, only the plot. I receive no monetary compensation for this work.**

**Chapter Forty-four**

**BPOV**

The next morning I woke up with Edward in _my_ bed this time. I got up, so as not to disturb him. I looked ay my naked body in the mirror. I ran my hands over the scars on my stomach. Whatever he had said, I knew that last night was about pity. I traced the line that said 'C and B'. Then, I got an idea.

I went into the kitchen with a large red bath towel. I grabbed a steak knife from my block and sat on the towel. I studied the scars carefully and then made a quick line in between the top and bottom curves of the C turning it into an E. The knife was shocking and somewhat cold. I felt the blood dripping down my stomach. I sopped it up with the towel, and pressed gently to staunch the bleeding. When the blood stopped coming, I put the towel in a Ziploc bag, sealed it, and put it inside of the kitchen garbage, for the next time I went to the chute.

I went back to bed, satisfied with my work.


	45. Chapter 45

This is the last chapter, everyone. There is an epilogue after, but this is it.

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! If I wanted any money from this, I'd be selling it, not posting it here. I only want my readers to be happy!**

Have a delightful read!

**Chapter Forty-five**

**EPOV**

After a few mishaps, Bella healed like she always had. She was a miracle woman, one day, I swear, they would make a movie about her.

I moved in with her, and watched over her all the time. I had to make sure that she was safe. I wouldn't have felt right leaving her while I went home…alone. I didn't want her to be alone, nor did I want to be alone. I ached for her touch, but every time I went near her, I knew that she shied away from me. It was when Alice called me that I realized that it was something she couldn't control, it was just her body. Alice told me that her body was betraying her mind, and she really ached for me as well.

I was upset when she showed me her scars, but when things…escalated, I forgot all about them. And, eventually, so did she.

The morning after our second night together, I woke to find her awake and reading a book by my side. I stretched, yawned, and I led my giggling Bella into the bathroom for a nice hot shower. I was soaping her body when I noticed an angry red cut beginning to heal. "Bella, what's that?"

"It's…it's the mark of my love for you."

I rinsed her stomach and looked more closely. She had cut another line into her skin that changed her father's initial, C, to mine, an E. "Bella," I said, going into my doctor mode, "really? Self-mutilation is not the answer. We can get through this, I swear."

"You don't understand, Edward. I didn't think you would." She turned away from me, her lips a straight line, but she was as calm as ever. It was as if she had numbed from the pain.

"Explain it to me, then." I was actually angry with her.

"I'm clean, can I get out now?"

"Sure." I shut off the water and helped her out. "Can I get some antibiotics for that cut?"

"Will they prevent scarring?"

"If you cut deep enough, it should stay." I winced.

"I cut deep enough."

"Then I'll get something for it. I wouldn't want it to get infected." I walked quickly away; I couldn't stand to be in the same room for one more second. It wasn't Bella in there; it was another woman, somebody else's love.

I came back just as quickly, unable to be away from her for as long as period of time. "Here you are." I dried the cut and bandaged it.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

"You're welcome." I looked at her eyes, she looked back into mine. We sat like that for the better part of an hour. And I decided that it _was_ Bella in that shell, but she had changed and I needed to accept that. So I did. I loved her, and I would never let her go.


	46. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I gain no monetary compensation from this work. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I only own the plot, which is quickly wrapping up!**

I know this is a bit of an abrupt ending, but it made sense to me. It's the beginning of their new life, and they have new problems. I can't wrap everything up! Tell me if you want a sequel, I'm becoming more and more inclined…

Thanks again, everyone, you all are the best!

-Miri

**Epilogue**

**BPOV**

Fourteen days after I cut an 'E' into my stomach, Charlie was caught. He was buying gas just outside of the city in a stolen Acura. Two months later I attended his trial and testified against him. He was given twenty-five years in prison; he would be sixty-nine before he could terrorize us once more. I visited him in prison; this is how the conversation went.

"Hi Dad."

"What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to say 'Hi'. I missed having to look out for you stalking me. And I wanted to tell you something."

"Ha ha. Well, out with it and go away!"

"I wanted you to know that I forgive you."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye, Dad." I didn't want him to die thinking that I hated him, and having that glass wall between us and guards surrounding us made me brave.

In the June after I graduated from college Edward proposed to me. It went like this:

We were sitting in the living room, watching a rerun episode of Startrek, and I was laughing at some stupid thing that Chekov was doing. Suddenly, Edward was staring at me with his intense eyes. "Bella, you're beautiful when you laugh, did you know?"

I blushed. "Oh, stop. You're ridiculous."

"Wait here for just a moment." He got up and went to his room. I waited on the couch, and turned off the TV.

He returned with a little box, he got down on one knee while I was reclining on the couch. "Oh, no." I said quietly. I don't think he heard me.

"Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?" He looked into my eyes and presented me with the most beautiful emerald ring that I had ever seen. It was beautifully set in white gold. Unconventional, but that was the way we had always been.

I was silent for a few seconds, all was silent. "Of course I'll marry you!" I reached for his hand and held it. He placed the ring onto my ring finger, I wanted to make a fist and admire it, but of course, that was the finger that doesn't work. I felt a momentary urge to move the ring to another finger. But then I realized that if I spent my entire life doing things because of Charlie, I would always be upset. I left the ring there and kissed Edward instead.

We got married the next summer. Rosalie and Alice are still my best friends, they never once backed down, and I didn't have a Maid of Honor at my wedding, because I couldn't decide which one to choose. And the funny thing: my mother attended my wedding.

Edward and I were talking about college after I had graduated, and he mentioned his Dean, Dr. Dwyer. We were talking about her, so he looked up a picture online. I recognized her instantly. How strange, we had both become teachers. I immediately called her office number and left a message, then I called her secretary, and then sent her an e-mail. She called back the next day.

"Hello?" Edward said.

"Bella?"

"Oh, no, this is Edward, I'll get her." Edward came and tapped me on the shoulder, handing me the phone. He didn't have to say who it was, I already knew.

"Mom?"

"Bella?"

"It's me."

"Oh, God, sweetheart! I'm so sorry! I had to disappear, I couldn't have been found by him, because he would have killed me! I swear I didn't want to leave you! Can you ever forgive me?" Her voice was breathy and kind, full of imagination, just the way I'd remembered it.

"Of course, mom."

"Where are you? Can I come and see you?"

"Anytime!" I gave her our address, and she was delighted to hear about my engagement. We eventually hung up and she swore that she would get on the road immediately. She was at my apartment the next day. And as a result, she gave me away at my wedding.

My mom and I are still in touch, she calls me every day, and if she forgets, I call her. She immediately paid all of my hospital bills from the last year, and from four years before. I haven't been able to justify having any children yet, but maybe someday.

The story ends here, but I don't like to think of it as an end. For Charlie, it's the end, for the Bella that I was in Chapter One, it's the end.

And I know it sounds cheesy, but for me, for Edward, and for Mom, it is really just -beginning.

So, that's it.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Should I do a sequel? Re-reading this to write the summary has made me really happy. SO, if you think I should, please tell me what it should be about and perhaps I shall! Thanks again for everything. I owe you all.


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